Take Backs
by Rhiane Raine
Summary: AU. During the summer between Harry's fourth and fifth year, a familar stranger makes a shocking recovery from death.
1. When the Past Comes Knocking

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.  
  
**Warning:** This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.  
  
**Take Backs**  
  
**Chapter 1: When the Past Comes Knocking**  
  
By Rhiane Raine  
  
Rain beat down into the roof above the heads of the room's occupants. The sky outside was bleak and a sinister gray smudged with bits of hopeful blue splattered about it spontaneously. The water that poured out the heavens seemed was oddly lukewarm. The irony of it was intriguing to those who noticed it.  
  
A sigh was emitted from the person sitting next to the window. The other person that was occupying the room glanced up from his book and looked over to where Sirius Black was sitting with his forehead pressed to the cool glass. Before Remus Lupin could ask his friend what he had been thinking about, his friend spoke up knowing very well that he was about to be questioned.  
  
"Have you looked at the sky, Moony?"  
  
Moony, or rather Remus Lupin, abandoned his seat by the fire, and walked over to the ledge that his friend was sitting on. He gave Sirius's leg a gentle push to make way for him to sit as well. The sky looked oddly familiar; though it was true he had not looked at it yet that day.  
  
"It's just like the day that Harry was born. Just like it," Sirius said softly before Remus could voice any of his thoughts.  
  
Sirius could feel that Remus was sitting next to him, though he was miles away. Remus reached a hand out to place on his friend's shoulder.  
  
"I miss him too," Remus said.  
  
For the first time in at least an hour, Sirius pulled his face away from the cold glass and looked straight into the face of Remus.  
  
"Which one?"  
  
Remus didn't have to ask whom Sirius was referring to. The choices to answering the question were Harry, James, or Lily.  
  
"All of them."  
  
A few moment of silence followed that statement. Sirius let his head fall back against the window with a dull thud that rattled the entire unit. Remus knew something was on his mind; therefore he didn't chastise him for being so ruff with the house.  
  
"I shouldn't have to miss any of them. I shouldn't have to miss Harry, especially. There's no good reason why he should be kept at in that...that place. I'm his Godfather; I should have been given guardianship of him."  
  
This time Remus sighed. "Padfoot, you know good and well that your legal paperwork was and still will be denied due to...unfortunate events. It's no good beating yourself up over it. Things happened in a bad way. Nobody can fix them –"  
  
"You're not helping me any, Moony," Sirius whispered, his reply muffled his the large quantity of windowpane inches away from his mouth.  
  
"No, I suppose not. But I still think that rather than brood about what could have been and pessimistically wishing your life away, you could do something productive."  
  
"Like what? The Order's first meeting is in a week and a half so there are no missions I can do. I'm a convicted mass murderer. I can't really go anywhere. No offense, but there's nothing here for me to do." Sirius replied in an indifferent tone that told Remus that nothing was sinking in.  
  
"Well, you could write to Harry. From what Hermione and Ron said in the letters they sent you last week, Harry's whole day is brightened by news from you,"  
  
"I have nothing to say to him. You can only say, "I miss you and wish I could take care of you" so many times."  
  
"Tell him how you feel, tell him you're proud of him and to hang in there. Or," Remus grinned, "you could tell him the story of the first time you babysat him."  
  
That had an effect. Sirius broke his gaze from the rainy sky, and smiled as he remembered.  
  
"Yeah, that was fun. I still don't know how he got hold of my wand, though. Lily wasn't too happy bought that. He filled the entire room was with butterflies. Mind you, it was something the way Harry chased them around. I should have known right then that he'd turn out a seeker."  
  
"Well, at least we learned what Harry would and could do with a wand. Lily wasn't too mad that her house was full of multicolored butterflies...until she noticed that Harry had also changed the color of her sitting room walls," Remus added.  
  
"Yeah," Sirius chuckled lightly, "I really loved it when Lils got angry. She was so cute."  
  
"Good thing James didn't hear that. He always was a tad bit overprotective of her," Moony remembered.  
  
"Course 'e was!" Sirius said indignantly, "You would have been too, with a good looker like me around!"  
  
"Sure. You keep telling yourself that."  
  
"Who got the most date offers to the Graduation Ball?"  
  
"You probably paid them to ask you in order to win that bet with Lucious Malfoy."  
  
"What! Are you saying I would need to pay people to ask me to the dance just to beat Malfoy?!"  
  
"No, I'm saying by the end of seventh year you'd already gone through most of the girls at Hogwarts. They were wary of getting their hearts broken, Padfoot." Remus scolded.  
  
"Oh," was all Sirius said, who waited precisely thirty seconds before resuming his position against the cold glass, watching the rivulets of water trickle down the other side.  
  
"I still miss him,"  
  
Frustrated at Padfoot's stubbornness and depression, Remus stood up and left the sitting room. He entered the small kitchen of his temporary shabby cottage. It was small and only had one bedroom but houses were hard to lease being a werewolf and all. To Remus, it was a vast improvement over the last house he had rented.  
  
As he began cooking, his thoughts drifted back to his best friend. When Sirius had knocked, pawed actually, at his door early in the morning a week after the TriWizard Tournament, he'd been a mess. Ranting and raving about how he'd just known that something like that would happen. Nothing Remus did would calm him. Sirius was so worried about Harry and how he was coping that he starting forgetting to take care of himself. Though he was worried then, Sirius was better company then. Now, having received word from Dumbledore that he would not allow Harry to stay with Sirius until later in the summer, all he did was reminisce about what he could have done in the past to have Harry here, now.  
  
Both of the men in the house were feeling particularity down spirited as they worked their way through the large dinner that Remus had cooked in an effort to keep his mind off of things.  
  
"Look, Moony, I'm sorry. I shouldn't bring you down. It's only going to getter harder, being happy I mean. If I start of at this level... I just would feel better if Harry wasn't put under lock and key in the house right after he'd witnessed Voldemort's rebirth. If I only knew when he'd be allowed to leave, then I'd feel better," Sirius apologized.  
  
"Well, I think maybe Dumbledore will let him come once we set up Headquarters next week. There really isn't anywhere safe for us to place Harry right now. This cottage is about as secure as the cave in Hogsmede. The Burrow is a no go because it's too obvious. I think once the right spells and charms are placed on Headquarters, Dumbledore will let him stay with you." Remus said to sooth his friend's nerves. "In the meantime, I think it best if-"  
  
Whatever Remus had been about to say was lost. There was a familiar knock on the door of Remus's house that made the hair on his neck and arms stand on end. The color had drained from Sirius's face. They stared at each other while trying to silently trying to convince themselves that they had imagined it, but no. There was the knock again. Knock. Ka-knock. Ka-knock, knock, knock. Remus stood up swiftly and nodded in Sirius's direction, who picked up on the hint and transformed into his grim like animal form.  
  
Remus gripped the handle of his wand tightly, pointing it in the direction of the cottage door. Padfoot walked along his feet, both treading carefully to avoid making sound. When they reached the door, they exchanged looks to each other. The rhythmic knocking came again. Both Remus and Sirius knew that knock. They had invented it as a secret way of letting a fellow Marauder know who was asking permission to enter without the need to open the door. The knock distinguished the knocker as a Marauder. Seeing as Remus and Sirius were both inside the house, it left the unknown person's identity to one choice. Peter Pettigrew.  
  
If Wormtail was here at Remus's house, something bad was afoot. Not only did he aid the rebirth of most foulest man ever know to man, but he had hurt Harry, framed Sirius for murder, and betrayed Lily and James to their deaths. Nothing good could come from a meeting between the two Marauders and that rat Peter. A thought of Voldemort standing on the other side of the door with Peter, who would be grinning evilly, caused Remus to shiver.  
  
Padfoot nudged his leg with his nose. There was no turning back now. If Peter had come to betray himself and Sirius then they would fight to the death.  
  
With a sense of foreboding, Remus wrenched the handle of the door, and threw the door open. He stuck his wand up in-between himself and what he expected to be Wormtail. But it was not. In front of him was not a short balding man with a face like rat. Instead stood a thin man who was wearing dress robes that were saturated with mud and grim. One spot of the hem was torn and his boots were caked in earth. The man was bent over slightly and leaning heavily on the doorframe, breathing in deeply.  
  
Remus did not lower his wand. Whoever this man was, it was very suspicious that he knew the Marauder's knock that only himself, James, Sirius, and Peter had known. When James and Lily were married, James hadn't even told her saying that some things were sacred.  
  
The man looked up and stared at Remus who was staring right back.  
  
"Moony," the man spoke hoarsely. It sounded as if he either hadn't used his voice in a long time or he had used it too much.  
  
Remus only stared with his wand pointing directing between the man's round glasses. This man who was standing on his doorstep covered in rainwater and dirt looked exactly like his best friend, James Potter. His _dead_ best friend, James Potter. 


	2. Halloween Revisited

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.  
  
**Warning:** This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.  
  
**Take Backs  
**  
**Chapter 2: Halloween Revisited  
**  
By Rhiane Raine  
  
"J-James?" Remus stuttered.  
  
This could not be James Potter. This was a sick joke. There was no way that the dead could come back to life. Someone was pranking him into thinking that his friend was here.  
  
The man who looked exactly like James stood a bit straighter and gave a brilliant lop-sided grin. "Wha'sa matter, Moony? D' you forget how stunningly handsome I am?"  
  
Remus was spared the necessity of answering as Padfoot cautiously padded over to the man who held his hand out for the large black dog to sniff.  
  
"Padfoot," the James look alike whispered tiredly, though the grin had not left his face.  
  
After a thorough sniffing, Padfoot turned to Remus and barked. Whether it was to say that the man was imposter or not, he did not know.  
  
Remus squatted next to the dog and whispered in his ear, "What do you reckon?"  
  
Sirius, as a dog, had a good sense of smell. When they were in fifth year, James had convinced him to polyjuice into each other for a night. Lily was not very keen on James that year but seemed to get along with Remus just fine as they had many of the same intellectual interests and prefect duties. They had brewed it in secrecy and swapped appearances before going back to Gryffindor Tower. Of course as luck would have it, Sirius had been in their dormitory practicing his transformation. He had smelled the difference immediately. The only reason that they had not told Sirius of it was because he had a hard time keeping his laughter to himself. He was bound to laugh at James pretending to be Remus while talking to Lily.  
  
Padfoot gave a soft bark that caused Remus to roll his eyes.  
  
"I don't speak bark, Padfoot."  
  
To remedy the situation, the large dog bit down on the sleeve of the grinning man's robe and starting to drag him into the house. Remus, still guarded of letting some strange imitator into his cottage, followed the two with his wand trained on "James".  
  
Remus shut the door and locked it magically. When he turned around he saw that Sirius was in his human form. The man who resembled a mudslide, stood there smiling as his friend circled him like a shark.  
  
"Sirius, would you like me to prove that I am who I am?"  
  
"That would be lovely," Sirius grinned.  
  
For all that was good, Remus hoped and prayed that this twenty one year old version of his best friend really was James Potter. He could think of nothing he would like more than to have his old friend alive again, but he couldn't help but be more concerned for Sirius. If this was not James Potter, Sirius might actually fall over the edge that Azkaban had pushed him to.  
  
"What would you like to know?"  
  
Remus said, "Tell me of the reason we invented the Marauders knock."  
  
"So that we would know whether the person at the door was a Marauder. If didn't hear the special knock, we had to hide all our prank items and other forbidden object that we kept in out dormitory. Nearly got caught that time when we were inventing the Marauders Map."  
  
Sirius and Remus exchanged looks. The first answer was absolutely correct.  
  
"What the first thing you said about Lily Evans?" Sirius shot hopefully.  
  
"The first thing I thought or the first thing I said?"  
  
"I can't exactly hear your thoughts, or I'd be in trouble now wouldn't I?" Sirius shot back with a laugh that sounded like a bark.  
  
"Right, well I believe the first thing I said was, 'Bloody hell, she's got a temper!' though I distinctly remember thinking that she looked like some sort of Greek God."  
  
That was two right. It didn't take a genius to give the answer that he thought his wife was pretty, but James had several times referred to her as some sort of deity.  
  
"Do Prongs," Remus challenged.  
  
This would be the last challenge. Only James would be able to transform into a stag like the one he remembered, polyjuice or not.  
  
In an instant there was a large stag standing in the middle of his sitting room. Remus and Sirius stepped forward. It was there. A small jagged scar on the deer's upper spine. It came from their first full moon with each other. Sirius had gotten a bit rowdy and had tried to tackle James. Neither of them were quite used to their four legs yet. They had flown backwards into a tree. The shock that this stag was the same one that he'd played with almost twenty years ago was overwhelming.  
  
James transformed back into himself just in time to watch Sirius hit the floor in a dead faint.  
  
Remus was still in too much shock to think clearly. His knees felt weak and breath was constricted.  
  
"E-e-enervate," Remus mumbled breathlessly.  
  
Slowly, Sirius sat up from the scuffed hard wood floor. "Rem, did I just imagine that James came back from the dead?"  
  
Remus nodded his head in an uncharacteristic dumb like fashion. "Yeah, I did as well."  
  
"Well, if I'm a ghost then I'm free to haunt Snivelus. Think of all the pranks I can pull and not have to serve detentions for!" The cheeky voice of James spoke up.  
  
Suddenly there was a quick motion of movement from the space of floor that Sirius was occupying. He had flung himself at James and embraced him a hug so tight that it could rival Molly Weasley.  
  
"James! I can't believe it! I've missed you so much! I am really sorry! I never meant for al that to happen-"  
  
"Padfoot, it's alright. I'm alive. You should have known that it's impossible to keep a Potter down for too long."  
  
Sirius's only response was to tighten his hold on his best friend while whisper how sorry he was over and over.  
  
It was a good five minuets later when Sirius finally pulled away, slightly embarrassed at his behavior. Remus decided to get his hug in before Sirius could break down again.  
  
"It's great to have you back, mate. We all missed you more then you'll ever know."  
  
"Thanks, Moony."  
  
There was silence in the cottage for a few moments until Sirius broke the seriousness with one of his usual insensitive comedic statements.  
  
"No offense, mate, but you smell. What have you been rolling in? I thought I was the dog."  
  
James grinned. "I'm not sure what I had on me, but I got rid of most of it," he pointed to their upper torsos at he spoke.  
  
Looking down at their chests, Remus and Sirius noticed that they too were now covered in mud and grim from the hugs they had given James.  
  
"You'll pay for that, Prongs!" Sirius shouted playfully as he tackled James backward.  
  
Remus watched as they wrestled around like old times before he raised his wand and cast a scourify spell on the both of them and himself. Neither of the other two noticed as they continued with their game. Remus cleaned the muddy prints and water trails off the floor before he stood up and went into the kitchen.  
  
It seemed so surreal to have a live James Potter alive after so many years of knowing that he was gone. After having previously been thinking about how much he missed him.  
  
Quickly, he gathered up three cups and a pot of tea that had been prepared not to long ago for dinner.  
  
When he walked back into his sitting room with the tray of tea, James and Sirius were sitting side by side on his couch grinning at each other. Remus knew that look. It meant mischief and since he was the only person in the household, he was their game.  
  
"You prank me and I swear that you'll both be out of a place to live!"  
  
James and Sirius smiled up at him with an innocent look that they had practiced so much it was practically flawless.  
  
"Now why would we prank you? I think there are other things that are much higher up on my list of priorities, Remy!" James said sounding as if Remus were a naughty kid who had said something deliberately insulting.  
  
Still not convinced, Remus cast a wary eye over the two of them while handing them cups of tea in which they all drank in peace.  
  
When Sirius was pouring them all seconds, James spoke up.  
  
"What's been going on? I mean, you two look much older than me. Why is that? What happened since-"  
  
"Prongs, why don't you tell us your point of view as it's most likely shorter? After we hear what happened to you, we'll tell you the outsiders over look, I swear." Remus said cautiously.  
  
James set his cup of tea down and leaned back against the sofa. His young face was screwed up in thoughtful concentration and confusion.  
  
"The last thing I remember before I...died? Was Lily and Harry. We were in the sitting room, when Harry started to cry. You know how Harry was, he never cried hardly at all unless something was absolutely wrong. Anyway, Lily tried to get him to calm down but he wouldn't. She had picked him up and was holding him, still he kept crying. I went over to help her, by rubbing his back. He kept crying, but he had ceased his wailing. That was odd behavior for Harry," James said quietly.  
  
Sirius and Remus nodded, while exchanging a look. That most certainly was odd for Harry. There had been a time when Harry had fallen off of the kitchen counter when James wasn't paying close enough attention. Though he nearly broke his arm, Harry didn't cry at all. Though it made sense nowadays. Harry still never cried, even when he fell a hundred and fifty feet from and airborne broom with dementors all around.  
  
"When Harry went quiet, I heard something. The wards were being breached. I told Lily to take Harry and go. He had come. No sooner than Lily left the room, Voldemort blew the door apart." James whispered.  
  
"I told him to leave my family alone and that I would die before I let him even think about going after my wife and son. We dueled until he cast a curse on me."  
  
Another look was exchanged between Sirius and Remus. This time James caught it and shook his head.  
  
"Not Avada Kedavra. It was one that I had never heard before. It felt like I was on fire, burning from the inside out. After a split second it was gone and I knew no more. The next thing I remember was waking up in a casket. The lid was open and it was pouring down rain. There was about an inch standing in the bottom of it. I felt tired and exhausted. Almost like the after effects of the cruciatus curse. My body didn't seem to want to work when I tried to stand up. Even though the lid to my casket was open, I was still inside my grave. The soil that was over me had been somewhat blasted aside. I work really hard to climb out, but it was to wet and slippery to hoist myself out of that hole. I finally found my wand in my robe pocket and levitated myself up. I suppose I should have thought of that first but I was really disorientated."  
  
James glanced at Remus then at Sirius before continuing, his voice shaking a great deal. He appeared to be preparing bad news or rather reliving it.  
  
"When I reached the surface and I looked around I saw Lily's headstone next to mine. Our death dates were the same, but I couldn't find Harry's grave anywhere. I had thought that he would be buried with Lily like we planned, but his name wasn't on the headstone. I didn't know what to do so I tried to get my wand to point me in the direction of Sirius. It didn't work. My wand flipped out and jumped out of my hand. I picked it up and tried to apparate but I didn't have enough energy. So I tried to locate Remus and it worked. I followed my wand all day until I found it pointing at this cottage," James's voice was now heavy with grief as he leant forward and put his head into his hands.  
  
Sirius set his tea down on the coffee table and rubbed a few circles on his friends back in a comforting manner.  
  
"James?" Remus said carefully. "Harry's alive." 


	3. Discussing Old Events

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.  
  
**Warning:** This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.  
  
**Take Backs  
**  
**Chapter 3: Discussing Old Events  
**  
By Rhiane Raine  
  
James's head instantly shot up and his eyes went wide with hope.  
  
"He's-he's-?"  
  
"- alive." Sirius finished for him, a small smile on his face at seeing Prongs obvious joy.  
  
"B-but how?" James asked unbelievingly.  
  
"Well, after Voldemort...well, "killed" you, he went after Lily and Harry," Remus stated explaining. He was very nervous at telling James how his beloved wife had been murdered and of how his son had lived.  
  
"When he found them, I _think_ they were in Harry's nursery, he told Lily to stand aside and you know Lily. She wouldn't allow anything to harm her baby boy. Still, Voldemort told her to stand aside. Lily...she told him he'd have to kill her first. So he did. Lily died protecting Harry. With Lily dead, Voldemort turned his wand on Harry and said Avada Kedavra. It didn't work though. The killing curse rebounded off of Harry's forehead leaving a mere scar and hit Voldemort himself, but it didn't kill the," here Remus said a word that made Sirius and James say "MOONY!" in shock and admiration.  
  
With a tired smile at his friends faces at hearing him say a naughty word, he continued. "Basically, Voldemort was reduced to a bodiless spirit, making Harry famous for surviving not just any killing curse but Voldemort's, the most powerful Avada Kedavra ever known thirteen years ago."  
  
"So Harry, my son survived the killing curse and defeated the darkest, foulest, most evil dark Lord recorded at the age of fifteen months." James asked in awe.  
  
Sirius and Remus nodded their heads. James's pride was obvious to anyone and everyone.  
  
"He's famous, James," Sirius said. "Your son is known and respected pretty much by wizards world wide.  
  
"Wow," came the uttered whisper from James's open mouth.  
  
The werewolf uncharacteristically smirked in the direction of his other friend as they silently decided to give James a few minutes to wrap his brain around the information they just divulged. The next slice of the timeline would be much harder to explain, especially with a shocked James Potter.  
  
It was five minutes before James glanced over to see Remus and Sirius sipping their tea patiently.  
  
"Sorry guys. Guess it's just a little hard to recognize that my little boy is famous." James apologized.  
  
His two best friends just waved it aside having gone through it themselves at one point in the past.  
  
"Wait a bloody minute! Did you say thirteen years!"  
  
"Yes. James it's the year 1995. You've been "dead" for fourteen years." Sirius explained.  
  
James ran his fingers through his messy black hair. The look on his face seemed to be a display of confusion and bewilderment.  
  
"If I've been gone for fourteen years, where's Harry? That makes him fourteen doesn't it? Why the hell do I still look the way I did fourteen years ago? You two are old, why aren't I? We're the same age!" Panic was clearly the main emotion that was now evident in James's behavior.  
  
"Whoa! Slow down 'ol buddy. First of all there is more to what happened after you and Lils were killed that you need to know that will answer some of your questions. Second of all, I don't know why you still look twenty-one, but Moony and I are not old! We are thirty-four and thirty- five. That does not make us ancient, thank you very much!"  
  
James was able to laugh through his alarm at the indignant look on his best friends face.  
  
"Alright, you're not old, just older than me. Now, get on with the story. I want answers."  
  
Remus gave Sirius a look and, with a sigh, Sirius began telling the second half of the story.  
  
"Well, after Harry sent Voldemort's killing curse back at him thus destroying him and your entire house, news traveled fast. That night, before you were attacked, I planned to check on Peter. When I arrived at his flat, he wasn't there like he was supposed to be. There was no sign of trouble. It didn't feel right, so I headed for your house immediately. When I got there it was just a foundation littered with debris. I saw your body and...then I went for Lily...She was just lying there all stiff and with her eyes open. I saw Voldemort's body across the floor and I hoped and prayed that Harry was okay. Harry was sitting in the middle of his mattress with the entire house down around him. He wasn't crying though he looked like he wanted to. I scooped him up into my arms and...I cried James. You know that I only cry in the most intense situations. I picked up Lily's body and I carried her over to you. I didn't want her lying anywhere near that," Sirius mimicked the word that Remus had used earlier.  
  
"She belonged with you. That was when Hagrid showed up. He said that Dumbledore had given him orders to take Harry to him. I knew then that my life was over and I-"  
  
"You still had Remus. Why was your life over?" James interrupted to ask.  
  
"Because, James, everyone knew me to be the secret keeper. We didn't tell Dumbledore or Remus about the switch."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Wait that means-"  
  
"That Dumbledore thought I'd betrayed you and sent Hagrid to take Harry before I could. It was only a matter of time before the Ministry caught up with me and I was denied Harry. I wasn't thinking clearly but I decided that if I was going to be taking the rap for you Lily's deaths, then I would also be responsible for Wormtail's. I gave Harry to Hagrid and told him to take my motorcycle. I wanted Harry out of there as fast as Hagrid could get him.  
  
"When I caught up with the rat, it was almost noon on the next day. Wormtail and I backed into a corner where he shouted to the street full of muggles that I betrayed Lily and James. He said he couldn't believe that I'd do that to my own best friend. I was still shocked at the turn of events when Wormtail put his wand behind his back and blasted the street apart. It killed twelve muggles. He cut off his finger and then transformed into a rat, speeding down the hole he'd created and met up with the other rats of the sewer. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized that little Peter Pettigrew who couldn't even produce a proper switching spell, had managed to get the better of me. The hit wizards came and took me in. I was sentenced to Azkaban for life without a trial, you know how Crouch was..."  
  
Remus went to sit next to James on his unoccupied side for comfort. Sirius was shaking after telling his side of the story.  
  
"So they just just locked you away like that? How could they? You would never deceive me! How could they think that?"  
  
"I don't know, James, but they did," Sirius said bitterly.  
  
"How are you here, if they gave you a life sentence?"  
  
"It wasn't for good behavior," Remus joked. It caused a slight upturn in the corners of his two best friend's mouths.  
  
"I escaped," Sirius said with a grin.  
  
"You escaped Azkaban?!" James shouted.  
  
"Yes." It was clear that Sirius was proud that his accomplishment was great enough to surprise his best friend.  
  
"That's really good, mate. How'd you do it? You _were_ the first, right? I mean, it hadn't been done before I, well, died but..."  
  
"Well, it was all thanks to our animagi abilities, I'd say. I was there until two years ago when I broke out." Sirius had said all this in a nonchalant tone that had James, the best prankster Hogwarts had ever seen, reeling.  
  
"What made you bust free and why then?"  
  
"Harry."  
  
"Harry? What did my son have to do with it? And you never told me where Hagrid took him."  
  
Remus chanced a glance at Sirius who, it seemed, did not want to tell James anymore than he himself did.  
  
Knowing that he would be stuck with the task, like it or not, Remus decided perhaps he should not waste time that would inevitably build up James curiosity.  
  
"Look, James. There was nothing Sirius or I could do about this. He was looked up in Azkaban and I am a werewolf and you know that-"  
  
"Get on with it, Remus," James snarled amazingly similar to the way Sirius had in the shrieking shack. He was clearly not impressed at the way his best friends were prolonging telling him what had happened to his son after Hagrid rode off on Sirius's motorcycle. The truth was hard to tell James, as Remus and Sirius both knew how "well" Lily had spoken of Petunia. Not that Lily ever really badmouthed anyone, but she never had anything good to say especially when her temper was not in check.  
  
"Dumbledore put him the care of the Dursley's-"  
  
"HE WHAT!!!"  
  
All of the sudden there was a tremor that shook all but the foundation of Remus's cottage, proving the fury of James Potter's knowledge that his son had been placed with the inadequate family of Lily's horse like sister. 


	4. Fire Juice

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 4: Fire Juice**

By Rhiane Raine

The entire house shook with James's rage.

"HE LEFT HARRY WITH THOSE…THOSE MUGGLES?! HAS HE ANY CLUE WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE THEY ARE?" James's angry shout echoed of the house walls. "Did Lily and I not leave specific instructions that our son's guardianship was to be offered first to Sirius, then Remus, then …well, _he's_ out of the running most definitely, but there's still Alice? Why did he ignore our requests?"

James was already on his edge. He had, all in one day, risen from the dead only to find out that fourteen years had passed along with his wife. His son was practically the most famous wizard alive due to some amazing unknown powers he had shown while defeating Lord Voldemort. His best friend was convicted of murder and had not spent the previous James-free years raising his son, but rotting away in Azkaban. Everything in his world had changed drastically. Harry was currently living with Lily's horrible relatives, who thought scruffiness was a felony.

Thoughts and emotions were swirling around in James's head so fastly that they were lost within him before he could realize what it was that he was feeling. The only one he recognized presently was that he could not allow his son to stay with those muggles any longer. He was angry that Dumbledore had left Harry with them when he knew perfectly well that it was neither his nor Lily's wishes.

Making a sudden decision, James stood up and made a break for the door pulling his wand out as he went. He made it about two steps before he stumbled to the ground confused.

"What the-"

"Trip jinx, James," said Remus, "I used to know you well enough to predict that you would make a rash decision in removing Harry from Petunia and Vernon. I've spent enough time around Harry to hone my abilities in expecting these kinds of choices from him. I don't know if we've told you yet, but Harry is very much like you."

Pride still intact, James smiled sheepishly at Remus and Sirius, the latter was snickering at the fact that James had fallen under the trick jinx, which was one of the oldest spells in the prank book.

He ran his fingers though his messy hair that Lily had admitted to liking its tousled untidiness in seventh year. Lily. _His _Lily.

"Fine, I'll wait and hear the rest of what you two hobbyhorses have to say," James said in a beaten voice. "_Then_ we'll go pry my son from the jaws of evil!"

Sirius rewarded him with his laugh like a bark as well as a clap on the back. Remus only shook his head in amusement. Though Moony never was one to vocally announce his agreement with their pranks and plans, James knew that he'd always be able to count him in.

"Basically, Dumbledore put Harry there for safety reasons."

"What safety reasons? My son defeated the evil ("JAMES!"). What else could he need protection for?"

"I was getting to that. If you'll shut your kidney pie hole!" stated Remus.

There was silence for a moment in which Sirius shifted in his seat on the couch.

"Yeah, there's a galleon of reasons that we can't take Harry from Dursley's. I've already asked about them. Since I've heard them all recently enough, you won't mind if I go pour us all a drink, right?" Sirius looked from Remus to James.

"Sure, Padfoot. You know where it's at, but don't go overboard." Remus replied in a slightly bored and tired voice, "Get me a Butterbeer would you?"

"Oh, come on Moony! James is alive! You HAVE to celebrate with something a bit stronger!"

"Fine, fine. I take whatever you fix," Remus said, hastening to add, "provided that you haven't added any prank or joke into it."

James felt the grin that he'd been sharing with Padfoot slid right off his face.

"Oh-Kay," Sirius said. He sounded very much like a child who had just been told off and made to apologize against his will.

"Oi, Padfoot! I'll take a fire whiskey laced with pumpkin juice. Remember, fire juice?" James called out to Sirius as he reached the door connecting to the kitchen.

"Do I look like a bloody house elf to you?"

James only grinned.

"Wait. Don't answer that."

Over the next few hours, Remus and Sirius had filled James in on the basics of what had happened over the past fourteen years.

Maybe it was because he had known both of his best friends for ten years, seven of which they had practically lived together, but James felt that Remus and Sirius were still leaving out certain details. For instance, when he had asked about his son and what he did in his free time. Remus had glanced at Sirius as if to ask his opinion on what to say. Sirius had just smiled sadly at the wall opposite him.

It wasn't Padfoot's behavior that really bothered him, oddly enough. His best mate had consumed all the fire whiskey and Butterbeer that Remus could allow him while James was had only drank two glasses of his favorite mix. Not that James really needed more than two fire juices to become inebriated, in the slightest. So he understood that Sirius wasn't quite himself at the time. Sure he was still conversational if a bit intoxicated.

Remus however, had only had a small shot of fire juice and a simple Butterbeer. James knew he was sober enough to know what he was saying or purposely not saying. It was unnerving enough to hear some of the things that had been going on in the world as of late. Even more so to be denied any specific answers about your only child.

"So let me make sure I've understood everything," James began, "I got hit with…some weird curse that made me temporarily dead. Voldemort then killed Lily who died in hopes of saving Harry's life. Voldemort then tried to kill Harry but the curse backfired onto himself. It left a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning on Harry's forehead and made Voldemort's spirit separate from his body.

"Sirius felt that something was wrong and checked on Peter to find that he'd gone. He suspected that Lily and I had been betrayed and came to check on us. He arrived to find the house blown apart with a "dead" me, a dead Lily, an alive Harry, and the "dead" body of Voldemort.

"Before he could decide much, Hagrid came along on direct orders from Dumbledore, who assumed Sirius to be our secret keeper. Harry was taken by Hagrid on Sirius's motorcycle to Vernon and Petunia's where Dumbledore made him live for fourteen years just because Petunia and Lily shared blood?"

"Yes," Remus confirmed.

"Then Sirius, who thought his life was over anyway, went after that rat but got framed for not only mine and Lily's deaths, but for the murder of twelve muggles AND for Peter himself?"

Again, Remus stated, "Yes."

James took a breath. "So now, my son is _still _living with the muggles under the blood protection in hopes that Voldemort can't murder Harry because he just regained his body in June in the presence of MY son?"

"S' right, Jamesy 'ol boy!" said Sirius, who pounded James on the back as if he were really proud that his friend understood everything. Though it was beyond James how Sirius was still able to comprehend anything that he and Remus had just said while wearing a mixing bowl like a party hat and his shoes on his hands.

"Sirius, I told you that five fire juices and four Butterbeers were too much. See if I ever let you drink in my house again," Remus chastised.

" 'Eep your knickers on, Remmie! I was only celebrat'n the fact that Jamie's alive! I won't do it 'gain. I promise!" Sirius slurred while leaning onto James's shoulder.

Remus sighed and shook his head at the drunken man. Both of the two remaining men who were not completely pissed knew how susceptible Sirius was to alcohol.

Remus stood up after a brief moment and offered his hand to Sirius.

" Wha' ?"

"Don't expect me to do this again, but I'm going to let you sleep in my room tonight."

"Oh, okay."

James watched in confusion as Remus helped a drunken Sirius through one of the doors in the small hallway that was set off to the other half of the house that was divided by the sitting room.

In the moment that Remus was heaving Padfoot to his bedroom, James looked around the cottage that he was now present in. The sofa in which James was sitting on was facing the fire while the kitchen and bedroom walls were parallel to the sitting room. In front of him was the grate and hearth.

It was clearly a shabby four-room house with only the basic kitchen, sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. The furniture looked as if it were quite old. There were long scratches and bits missing from the legs of the coffee table while the sofa and matching chairs were very worn.

In front of James and above the fire was the mantle. On it were the only homey touches to the entire flat.

Standing up, James made his way over to take a closer look at the knickknacks and pictures that were occupying the space above the fire.

A large wooden frame held an old photograph in the very center, making it the main attraction. A young Sirius Black stood tall and handsome next to a more youthful Remus Lupin. Now that James thought about it without the distraction of discovering that he had risen from the dead, he noticed that Remus had indeed gained many lines on his face. The Sirius Black in the picture kept elbowing the young Remus in the picture while he grinned over at him. Sirius's other arm was resting against James's shoulder by its forearm. The James in the wizarding photo was smiling widely at the camera and would drape one of his arms around his best mate from time to time. In all, the three marauders seemed to be very happy with one another and with themselves. If he remembered right, Peter had taken the photo just before graduation, making them all seventeen.

On the right of that picture, set an ancient frame bearing ancient runes that James knew to mean "Pot" which was short for "Potter". In the old family frame was a family consisting of a twenty one year old James and Lily, who was holding an infant Harry.

There they were, his family. Both of them were beaming up at him as well as smiling at the James in the picture with them. Every now and then the photo James would unwrap his arm from Lily's waist to reach around and tickle baby Harry, who would giggle while making no move to get away until Lily swatted James's hand away from the boy sitting in her lap.

James watched as his son snuggled up to his mother while he, James himself would pull the both of them into his own lap. All three of them were smiling broadly back up at him.

A sigh escaped the mouth of James as he remembered the day that picture had been taken. It had been Harry's first birthday that they had celebrated.

To postpone his flooding emotions, James glanced along the wooden mantle and saw an odd photo of himself just to the left of the picture in the center. The border around this depiction looked to be rocks that had been glued together somehow.

The strangest part, however, was not the frame or the messy black-haired kid wearing round glasses, but rather the two teenagers to the left and right of him. On the right side of the boy with messy hair was a boy with bright red hair and freckles. The boy with freckles had a tall gangly look to him. He was wearing a Hogwarts oxford shirt that was very worn for the wear and wrinkled at that. The top few buttons had been undone, his tie loosened, and the cuffs had been rolled up to reveal very freckly forearms. The boy's outer layer of his school uniform was piled carelessly on the free ground next to the side of the teen that was not occupied by the kid in round glasses.

To the left of the boy with messy hair, and glasses was a girl who too had taken off her outer school robe, but unlike the red haired boy, she had folded her's neatly and was using it as a cushion between herself and the grass below her of which she was sitting on. Her legs were drawn up to the side and the knees of which were resting against the thighs of the boy in the middle. In the lap of the girl lay a large thick book, the spine barely visible read "Hogwarts, A History". She had warm brown eyes and a soft tan complexion. A few strands of her brown hair, which was very thick and bushy, would fall into her face every now and again as she kept her head in a downward position so to read the thick tome in her lap.

James blinked. He did not remember either of the two teenagers sitting on either side of himself in that photograph. Why couldn't he remember? It did not make sense. The three people in the picture behaved as if they knew each other very well. Well, well enough to act friendly with one another. But James had not known any girls with bushy brown hair. Neither had he known any freckled boys with red hair.

In the picture the boy with freckles was saying something to the kid in glasses. Both of them laughed very hard, leaning back onto the large tree behind where they were all three sitting. The book girl looked up from her reading at them. She pointed a finger and seemingly scolded them for what had been said but the large smile on her face gave away her opposition. The red-haired boy ribbed the black-haired boy still laughing. Eventually the bushy-haired one joined in. James watched as the girl laid her head against the middle boy's open shoulder as she shook with mirth. She reached around the boy whose shoulder she was borrowing in order to give the other boy a playful shove in the chest.

"James?"

James turned around to see Moony standing in front of the closed door of his own bedroom.

"Who are those two?"

"Who?"

"The red head and the brown-haired girl in the picture with me. I don't remember either of them. The red head looks slightly familiar though. That's got to be my tree by the lake, and I'd know Hogwarts uniforms anywhere…"

Remus chuckled. Startled, James broke his gaze with the intriguing photograph.

"What's so funny? You wouldn't be laughing if you couldn't remember stuff about yourself if it happened to you!"

"Calm down, Prongs. You haven't lost your memory. There is a perfectly good reason why you don't recall the three in that picture." Remus stated coolly.

"No, I know me. It's is the other two I don't remember." James corrected.

"Look closer at _yourself,_ James."

He did. In fact, James picked up the entire frame off of the mantle and sat down with it in on the aged blue couch. He stared down at what still thought to be himself. The messy black hair was the same. The nose…looked smaller. It was not as long as his own nor as strong looking. The glasses were the same that were placed in front of…green eyes?

'_Wait a minute!'_

Since when did he have eyes so green that they resembled Lily's?

Remus snickered as James snapped his head up, hazel eyes wide with astonishment.

"T-this is H-Harry!?"

"Yes, James. That's Harry, your son."


	5. To Be It

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 5: To Be It**

By Rhiane Raine

His son. The words seemed to echo for an eternity inside James's head. The boy in the photo that he had mistaken to be himself was his son.

It was astounding to think that the he and Lily had procreated a son to look like the perfect collaboration of their best features. The difference in outward appearance between Harry and himself were very much spottable now that he actually looked.

Lily's bright green eyes had been passed onto their son as well as her nose and ears. James's tousled black hair and poor eyesight had somehow been thrown into the mix. Harry appeared very small compared to his red headed friend, though it was hard to determine if the boy's skinniness had come from James's, who had always appeared scrawny despite being as tall and big around as the next person. Lily had always been petite and of average height. It was possible that Harry had been given a strong dosage of both.

"He looks-"

"-just like you?"

"Yeah," James said in pure awe.

Remus chuckled at James's proud face.

"Sometimes he acts like you as well."

"So he's into mischief then?"

"Err, you could say that. In fact I think he's been into more than you ever were," Moony confessed.

"How many detentions?" James asked keenly.

"Not as many as you nor Sirius."

"Ah! So he has the innocent face perfected well enough to keep him out of trouble!"

"Well, no."

James's smiled slowly turned itself around. "What's going on? Why do you and Sirius feel the need to hide things from me about my own son?"

"Look, James, its not because we don't want you to learn about your son. Actually _I_ think that it's better for you to hear most of it from Harry when you meet him. The other half is because I don't want to deal with your ranting and raving."

"Why would I be angry?" James was confused. True that he felt better knowing that his best friends weren't trying to keep his son's life hidden from his, but he couldn't help but wonder what exactly Harry did in his life that caused Moony to clam up.

An audible sigh came from Remus jerking James out of his thoughts.

"Because Harry has a talent of getting into trouble, not looking for or making it. Mischief finds _him. _And it's not really the kind of trouble that you would like."

A pang of panic flew through him at the thought of his son being in danger. Didn't Sirius say that he'd heard the reasons why Harry couldn't live with him at the moment? Did that mean that Harry had been in mortal peril as of late? What about the past?

Remus must have noticed James's conflicting emotions because he hastened to add, "He's fine for now, Prongs."

Relief washed over his body like a cleansing shower.

James gave Remus a look of disbelief. "This parenting thing isn't _always_ going to feel like this, will it?"

The blonde streaked gray haired man chuckled. "I thought we already went through this conversation when Harry got his first ouchie."

"We did it's just Lily was there when it happened. Seems like the feeling is more intense now. Is it because he's older?"

"I don't know Prongs, but I don't think it gets any better, especially when it's Harry. It's not his fault though. He can't help being related to you."

"I can't wait to see him, Moony. I want to hear all about his life, his friends, his dreams," James stated wistfully.

Remus grinned. "You will. I've got an idea for it but not tonight. It's been a rather stressful day what with trying keep Sirius from depressing himself into an early grave then trying to peel him off the walls when our dead best friend comes back to life. If you don't mind, I would like to get some sleep."

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea, Moony. One question though," said James.

"What's that?"

"Where are _we_ going to sleep?" he asked as he stared around Remus's small cottage.

"Oh, um… Well, I usually let Sirius sleep on the sofa. Sometimes I transfigure it into a bed when he's been good, if I feel up to it that is. I suppose that we can just transfigure the sofa and one of the recliners into beds on opposite sides of the room-"

"Moony, come on. We shared a dorm room for seven years! I think we're close enough to manage sleeping in the same room without having our personal space invaded."

"Yes, but if we transfigure our beds out of the furniture where it is now, I'm sure there won't be room. Remember what happened when we tried to change a match into a desk without removing it from its matchbox?"

"Oh, yeah," James said in embarrassment at having not caught the whole point earlier.

The two men set to work levitating their pieces of furniture far enough away to keep the room intact before they transfigured their beds. James flicked his wand and a bed that mimicked the Hogwarts dorms took it's form although this bed was a well worn shade of blue.

James looked down at his clothes and saw, for the first time, that he had been dressed in his best dress robes when they had buried him. Red and gold trim work weaved around the edge of the fine black cloth. They were clean enough after Remus's charm work earlier but James felt a little disturbed at the thought of sleeping in the same robes he had been buries in and, thus, worn for the past fourteen years.

A swish and an incantation later, Prongs the Marauder stood next to his transfigured bed in a pair of soft black, red, and gold, striped pajamas.

He crawled into bed suddenly feeling the way Sirius and Remus must be; utterly worn out.

"Good night, Moony."

"Night, Prongs."

But James did not go directly to sleep but rather lay there thinking amidst his weariness. How would Harry react to his sudden presence? Would he be happy to have a father? Sad? Angry? Would he even care? What if they didn't get along? What if Harry decided he rather liked Sirius as a father better? Well, that one was actually easy to answer. He'd leave them be. If Harry and Sirius were happy with current arrangements, why tip the broom? Padfoot braved fourteen years of misery in his honor; James would return the favor even if he had to watch from the background as his son grew up under Sirius's parentage.

Of course, James hoped that wasn't the case. He really had grown fond of the image of a teenage Harry getting tips on pranking and girls from his father and Godfather.

When he finally felt his body drifting off to sleep he decided that whatever Harry decided he wanted James to be, he'd be it.


	6. Devising A Plan

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 6: Devising A Plan**

By Rhiane Raine

The next morning James awoke to the voices of Remus and Sirius. After he had fully awoken, James was able to catch part of what it was that they were saying in the kitchen.

"-but you were the one who decided to celebrate James's resurrection or whatever you want to call it. It's not my fault you got drunk and fell asleep on us. Nothing big happened after I put you to bed."

"You tucked me in, Moony? Aww, that's really sweet of you," Sirius grinned with cheeky sarcasm despite whatever his earlier mood- that had inspired Remus's response- may have been.

"Sirius you know very well that waking up on the floor with a hangover only to see your long dead best mate sleeping on the couch in the same room would not have been a pleasant experience for any of us in this house. That's why I made you sleep in my room. And to think I assumed you'd be thankful!" Remus mutter

"Yeah, I know. Actually waking up at all was enough. I kept thinking that I had just had a really great dream at first. It was almost as if the dream would fade away if I opened my eyes." James heard Sirius whisper.

James smiled to himself. He knew the feeling. He had gone threw the same thing when Lily finally agreed to go out with him. James had also felt that way after Harry had been born.

The door to the kitchen opened to reveal Remus and Sirius each carrying a part of breakfast.

"Wake up there, sunshine!" said Sirius brightly.

"Yes, we've decided that you earned a breakfast in bed," Remus grinned.

James smiled as he remember the Marauder tradition of sneaking meals up to the other Marauders who had been up all night devising their next big practical joke.

"I thought Remus was on thinking duty last night?" James asked.

Sirius set the tray of eggs and toast that he had been carrying onto the coffee table. Then he promptly threw himself onto James's bed causing James to laugh and whack his friend's arm in playfulness.

"So, Jamie, whad'dya say we get start devising our plan while we eat this nutritiously balanced meal, complements of Moony?"

James mock glared at Sirius, who had draped his arm around James's shoulders. "I think you should not call me "Jamie" if you want to live long enough to help me break my son out of that muggle house."

Remus smiled his agreement as he placed his pitcher of pumpkin juice on the coffee table and sat down on the edge of James's bed.

"Well Mr. Moony, Mr. Prongs," Sirius said throwing his free arm about Remus's shoulders, bringing the three of them close together. "I do believe it's time to do what we Marauders do best!"

The plan itself was quite ingenious, really. Or so, James thought. Remus had expressed his concerns but all in all it would work.

Engineering a plan that was so flawless that not even Dumbledore would be able to unravel it until it had already unfolded proved more of a challenge for the Marauders than they originally thought. But, once they got the train rolling the rest came to them fairly easily except for one of the minor details.

"James, I'm sure that Dumbledore's going to know that we're planning on kidnapping Harry. He may not say anything, but he'll know. I think we should come up with something more solid to work on him."

"Moony, this will work! Besides, what's the difference in Dumbledore knowing our plan before or after we've pulled it off? He's kept his mouth shut about our pranks before! Remember when James and I snuck into McGonagall's quarters and magiked everything that was red to gold and the gold to red? He knew we were going to do that and never said anything to her about it," Sirius pointed out. "I doubt she even knows today that we were behind it." he scoffed.

The plan was for Remus and Padfoot to floo in to the Headmaster's office at sunrise the next morning. After declining the offered lemon drops, Remus was going to explain to Dumbledore that he had suspicions that a few Death Eaters were going to raid Diagon Alley soon. This, of course, was true in all aspects. There probably _would _a raid and Remus _did_ have suspicions about it happening soon.

Dumbledore would most likely send all over the Order that he could to stealthily add some protection spells to Diagon Alley. As it was a Saturday most of the Aurors had the day off unless they were called in due to emergency.

After the Dumbledore had deployed Moody, Tonks, Shaklebolt, Arthur, and perhaps even few of the newer members, Sirius was supposed to make a slight scene of acting out of character. Remus would then confess to the Headmaster about how he and Padfoot had snuck out of the cottage the night before (against Dumbledore's wishes for them not to venture out where prying eyes could see them) to morn James and Lily at their graves. That part of the plan was crucial, as they would have to be very specific about seeing an empty grave and about how the coffin had been opened and emptied.

If things went as the Marauders planned, Dumbledore would find James's empty grave odd enough to research while Harry was being "kidnapped".

"Yes, Sirius, but this isn't the sort of prank that he will get a laugh out of. He put Harry at the Dursleys for a reason." Remus held a hand up to cut off any impending arguments. "I do believe that there are many better options for Harry's living arrangements, but neither Sirius or I are in any position to change it. James, however, has every right to decide where Harry lives and who with. The only problem is, is that I know the both of you are nearly out of patience already and it will take too long for us to get Harry the proper way."

The three men smiled at one another, mulling their plan through, each trying to find a kink or bug. Almost five minutes later Sirius pointed out that Dumbledore would probably want to see one of their memories of the gave through his pensieve.

"I guess you could always borrow mine, except it was pouring rain when last night. I doubt very much that the weather will be like that tonight." James pondered, his chin in hand.

Remus sighed, "I'll go to the grave yard tonight and look. He'll most likely ask for mine, anyway."

"Why wouldn't he ask for mine?" Sirius demanded.

"Well, for starters you'll be in Padfoot form. Secondly, Mr. Olivander hasn't finished making your secret illegal-to-possess-because-you-are-a-convicted-criminal wand yet and thirdly, because you were. I mean _are _James's best friend. Surely finding your best friends gave empty will have more impact on you rather than me."

"Good thinking, Moony," said Sirius after thinking it through. "Not to mention I've been in Azkaban. Most people assume I'm crazy and all. Who wants to see thoughts and memories from a crazy person's mind"

James peered closely at Sirius. Out the corner of his eye he could see Remus watching him stare at Sirius. James couldn't help but realize that during his absence from the earth, Sirius had matured. Perhaps not grown up, but matured.

Later that night Remus took a long hard look about his house before laying down the ground rules for James and Sirius, who had dug out an old deck of exploding snap and were playing with renewed vigor despite the fact that they were quite tired from thinking all day.

"While I'm gone there are to be no pranks pulled on me, my house, my things, or anything that has to do with me. No imbibing alcohol, no races, no duels, no destruction, and do not leave the house. In fact, the two of you have an assignment while I'm away," Remus said suddenly.

"What's that, Professor Moony?" James asked in a mock childish curious voice.

Remus gave a playful glare at the jab as Sirius, not to be outdone, whined, "Please don't make us alphabetize your knicker drawer again! We did that last week!"

"Laugh if you will. You will like step three of your assignments, I promise. Firstly, you both need to go over the plan again and make sure it's flawless. Secondly, we need to figure out exactly how we kidnap Harry and how we go about telling him that James is alive."

"Yeah, yeah. What's the part that we'll like?" Sirius's face was alight with impatience. James couldn't help but agree with him.

"Well, from what I can tell Harry has some pretty good reason to dislike the Dursleys. I think perhaps they deserve a little something for their… _kindness_, don't you?"

James grinned. There was an identical evil smile on his best friend's face as they mentally postponed stages one and two in favor for step three, for the time being.


	7. Divulging the Truth

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 7: Divulging the Truth**

By Rhiane Raine

"BOY! Get up now and fix our breakfast!"

Harry Potter's eyes snapped open as he jumped out of bed. It was not that he enjoyed his morning wake up yells, but he had become accustomed to it over the years.

Quickly, Harry threw on the only pair of jeans that semi fit him and the one shirt that only swallowed him, rather than devouring him whole.

The fourteen year old didn't even bother to comb his hair or glance in the mirror as he passed by it. Harry knew that there was nothing he could do to improve his appearance. Had he looked, he would have seen an old sunburn stretching across his nose and cheeks as well as dark indentions underneath his bright green eyes. The raven black hair on top of his head was very messy indeed, sticking up in all directions.

On his way down the stairs, Harry folded up the sleeves of his blue tee shirt and tucked in the tail so that he would be "presentable".

"BOY!" bellowed Uncle Vernon just as Harry entered the kitchen. "So you decided to earn your keep, did you? You ought to be downright thankful for your Aunt and my generosity…"

Yet again, Vernon fell into an all too familiar tirade about Harry's lack of thankfulness.

Over the summer Harry had become more sullen. Rather than anger and impatience, he had become slightly numb in his feelings. His loss of temper had already arisen a bit of suspicion with the Dursleys during the first week of the holidays. When Dudley had insulted Harry's freakishness and not gotten the desired result, he complained to his parents about how Harry was deliberately ignoring him. A thirty minute long lecture from Uncle Vernon about exercising manners when someone important is speaking to you had no effect on Harry whatsoever. If it were a choice between yelling at Dudley in anger or ignoring Dudley in numbness, Harry would choose the latter as it was a sure way to irritate his relatives.

Truth be told, Harry wasn't sure he could feel much of anything anymore. Sure he felt guilty and horrible about Cedric's death and Voldemort's return in his mind, but his body felt no different. The knot of sickness that had resided permanently in his stomach was no longer anything but another part of his body that he had to carry around.

After his uncle had ran out of breath, Harry simply turned and began cooking despite the purple coloring of Vernon's face.

Mornings usually passed quickly enough for Harry as there was always a list of chores to keep him preoccupied.

While the Dursleys were eating (or inhaling in Dudley's case), Harry silently went to the backyard to start the day's yard work.

Harry opened the shed and wheeled out an old push mower. With a sigh, the fourteen-year-old boy took off his shirt. The sun had been up for at least three hours by the time Harry managed to cut all of the grass with the motor less lawn mower. He still yet had to paint the fence and tend to Aunt Petunia's award winning garden.

At noon Harry had just gone inside after completing what he privately referred to as "The Dursley's List Of Doom". The cold air felt good on the boy whose skin was too often exposed to dangerously hot sun waves.

Quite suddenly there was a booming bang on the front door, followed by a patterned series of smaller knocks. Harry sluggishly turned to gaze dumbly at the door from across the room as if it might answer itself. It was obvious to Harry that neither Aunt Petunia nor Dudley would be bothering themselves with the task anytime soon. So Harry therefore drug his aching body over to the direction of the emitted taps and raps. When he opened the door it was to see a shabbily dressed wizard standing in the middle of the doorway, wearing the most joyous expression Harry had ever seen him wear.

"Hello, Professor Lupin," Harry whispered, his voice sounding slightly gruff.

Remus Lupin's mouth went from a smile to a very worried frown. The werewolf looked at the space over his shoulder before rushing inside and slamming the door shut.

"Wha-," Harry began to inquire about his ex-professor's odd behavior. He was, however, cut off mid-word by the polite man who paid close attention to being respectful of others.

"What in Merlin's name have you been doing, Harry? You look positively worn out!"

The green eyed boy's face contorted into confusement which caused Remus to gesture to Harry's sun burnt and sweaty face along with the sweat that was soaking through the shirt Harry had recently replaced upon entering his Aunt's clean house.

Harry stammered, "Oh, I um…err…have err been out quite a lot, actually. Too much sun, you know?"

Remus raised a skeptical eyebrow in Harry's direction but said nothing.

A pang resounded within Harry for the first time since he had left the train station in June as he registered what the slightly panicky look of concern that his former teacher wore meant. The man ducked his head down into his hands while turning away from Harry to rub his eyes tiredly.

Remus turned back around to look at Harry, eyes darting side to side as he seemingly went over his options inside his own head.

"Harry, I need you to stay calm.-"

"-Why? What are you-"

"Padfoot is outside. He's waiting underneath an invisibility cloak. "

Confusion and suspicion swirled together in Harry's thoughts. Why was Sirius hiding under an invisibility cloak? Well, other than to hidefrom the ministry. Why didn't Sirius come inside? Why was Remus so worried about his sunburn? After all, Harry had done nothing for anyone to be alarmed about, right?

"Err, I would invite you to have a seat," Harry gestured to the sitting room, "but it seems that Dudley had already claimed it.

Sitting on the couch in front of the telly surrounded by mounds of empty junk food cartons and wrappers, was a very fat Dudley Dursley.

'The kitchen, then?" suggested Remus.

"Well, Aunt Petunia is in there watching her soap operas. We could use my room, though." Harry offered to Remus and the space between them.

Remus nodded. Harry turned and led them up the stairs. A wave of horror overwhelmed Harry when he realized that Remus would be seeing his room, but it was too late to change that now. He gulped as they approached the door that was lined with bolts, locks, and a cat flap; the door to Dudley's second bedroom.

Behind him, an intake of breath was heard from Remus. Harry closed his eyes as he turned the doorknob to reveal his room.

The wooden floor of the room was bare of carpet and plentiful of scrapes and dents where Dudley had thrown things about. The iron gray bars had been replaced on the outside of the curtain-less window. In the corner of the room was a single bed with an old worn duvet. Next to that was a bedside table with a corner chipped away. A shabby desk with three and a half legs was positioned in the opposite corner, covered in parchment, quills, and textbooks.

Harry waited with baited breath. It appeared that Remus was very interested in Harry's room.

The raven-haired boy looked at Remus with a feeling of foreboding.

"Harry?" His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his ex-professor's hoarse voice.

"Yes?" Harry replied warily, beginning to think that this conversation would be a tough one.

"Would you sit down? I have something… rather odd to explain to you."

"Oh, um, sure," Harry sat down on the end of his bed. Nervousness was creeping into his veins ever so slowly.

Remus glanced out the window before pulling out Harry's desk chair and seating himself. "The first thing I'm going to say is that I am about to tell you something unbelievable and I need you to promise that you'll listen to all of the facts and not be angry or disregard what I tell you."

Harry gave him a apprehensive look. When he saw that Remus was sincerely serious, Harry quickly nodded while preparing himself for whatever he was about to hear.

"Harry, your father's alive!"


	8. Worried Marauders

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 8: Worried Marauders**

By Rhiane Raine

"Harry? Har-ry…"

Dark shapes blurred before Harry as he opened his eyes. His stomach felt as if it was trying to propel itself through his throat. He drunkenly rolled over to his left and retched while vaguely hoping that the dizziness that he was experiencing would be purged from as well as the meal he had eaten yesterday.

When there was nothing left for Harry to regurgitate, the boy's sides felt horribly sore and his entire body- especially his arms- felt tired, as if he could no longer support himself. In fact, it was two strong arms that wrapped around him from behind that kept him from becoming a jelly-like blob and from falling forward into his own pool of sickness.

Harry's arms went limp at his sides as the arms pulled him upright and into a warm lap. Harry closed his eyes against the blurry room and unknowingly leaned back against the chest behind him.

"Harry? Are you all right?

"Umm?" Harry's groaned miserably as he squirmed slightly, only just noticing how miserably hot he felt.

"Hang on," Remus said as he stood with the boy in his arms. When Harry was placed on his bed, he risked opening his eyes to find his dizziness subsiding but the fuzziness of his surroundings was still there.

"Remus?"

There was a dip in the bed that was from Remus sitting down next to him. "Yes?"

"Could you hand me my glasses?"

The frames were slipped onto his face a moment later. The first thing Harry noticed was the pale, calculating look of concern on Remus Lupin's face who pressed the back of his right hand against Harry's forehead.

"Sweet Merlin, Harry! You are absolutely burning up! It's no wonder you're ill! You shouldn't' have been out in the sun if you weren't feeling well to begin with!" Remus chastised.

"You're right Professor," Harry answered quickly, eager to allow Lupin to think that the cause of his sickness was only furthered by his presence in the sun for extended periods of time.

"Ye Hippogriffs! James is going to go sick with worry when he finds out that your relatives allowed you to get sick! I thought it was going to be hard enough keeping him from performing the forgivables on them…"

"Wait," Harry said weakly bolting up to a sitting position, "I thought I was dreaming!"

Remus looked into Harry's eyes and replied in a calm and sincere manner, "No, Harry. It's true. James is alive. I don't know how, nor do I know why. All I know is that on Saturday I answered the door to find a cold, wet, and muddy James Potter. Sirius and I questioned him about everything we could think about; he even transformed into Prongs for us. You can't fake an animagus form. Now, it's two days later and he's outside waiting to meet his son for the first time in fourteen years and you're, well, sick."

"But I feel fine!" Harry lied as he climbed out of bed.

"You are not fine," Remus hissed as Harry swayed dangerously, "and I can tell from the look in your eyes that you still think that you are dreaming."

"Wouldn't you?" he whispered.

"Most likely," Remus admitted as he gently pushed Harry to sit back down, who leaned forward, elbows on his knees and head in his hands.

After a couple moments of silence Harry tilted his head slightly the side to look at Remus from his leaning position. "Part of me feels like this is some sick joke and part of me is pleading for it to be true."

Remus Lupin sighed as he placed an arm on Harry's back to rub comforting circles on the boy's back. At first Harry stiffened but then relaxed into the touch.

"The only thing I can think of to help you understand is to let you talk to him yourself. Do you trust me Harry?"

This last question startled Harry. He sat up completely and turned so that he was looking straight into Remus's face.

"Yes," Harry said without a trace of doubt in his mind, "I trust you."

"Good," Remus murmured as he did something that Harry was not expecting him to do; he leaned forward and hugged the still not fully convinced teenager.

Yet again, Harry stayed tense until Remus drew back with a glint in his eyes.

"I think it's about time for phase 2 to-"

"What's phase 2"

"Oh, it's step two in our "kidnap Harry plan." Remus smiled.

"Well what do these "steps" include?"

"Now now, Harry! A good Marauder never reveals his secrets. I will tell you that phase 1 was my part of the plan, phase 2 is all Padfoot and Prongs."

With that, Remus patted Harry on the shoulder and strode over to the window. The werewolf opened the window as smoothly as one could before imitating the knock that Harry had heard earlier on the neatly painted shutters. After a couple of repetitions, Remus drew his head back into Harry's room with an uncharacteristic grin as he mouthed a count down while holding up a finger to indicate the number he was on. Three happened to be the number of fingers that were being held up on Remus's hand when a startling CRACK! startled Harry. Falling off of the bed as he gazed up to the source of the sound, Harry saw there was absolutely nothing but air.

'Moony? Where are we?" came a muffled voice from the space in the middle of Dudley's second bedroom.

"You guys might want to come out from under the cloak now," Remus suggested. "You are in Harry's bedroom by the way."

"WHAT! James's exclamation would have been a shout had it not been muffled greatly by Sirius's hand as he ripped the cloak away.

"Please keep your voice down, James! I don't think it would be wise for you to alert Petunia to your presence in her house. With you being an uninvited "dead" guest and all she might call the authorities. That would really muck up our plans." Remus stated in a calm yet pleading tone that reminded Harry of Hermione when she was warning him and Ron of the troubles that would befall them if they were to follow through with one of their hair brained schemes.

"Right as always Moony. I just can't believe this dump is Harry's room. There's barely enough room in here for a teenage boy! And what's up with the furniture?" Demanded James as he turned to examine the desk, unknowingly turning his back on his son who was still lying in the floor on his back in a state of semi-shock and a slight wave of nausea in his stomach.

"The shrieking shack had more sturdy furnishings in it even _after_ Moony got through with it."

"James," Remus started in with a hint of warning in his voice.

"No, Remus! He's my son and if I want to complain about the sorry state of living his relatives have provided, I will! I may be a "dead" person but I can provide for Harry better than this!"

Harry closed his eyes in prayer that none of them would point out that the Dursleys _could_ but _wouldn't_ provide for Harry anymore than was necessary to keep him alive.

"While all of that may be true, I don't think it shouting about it is going to help any whatsoever. Also, I think that our plan needs some alterations. We need to proceed with the "kidnapping". Our discussions can wait till we reach the cottage." Remus stated as calmly as he could while staring intently at James.

Harry lay back against the floor feeling slightly nauseated from all of the apprehension and nerves coursing though him.

Silence sounded in the room just as soon as the back of his head touched the wood floor creating a soft 'thud'. Apparently one of the three men, whom had been speaking, had stopped in order to find the source of the odd noise. After a moment Harry opened his eyes to see the face of Padfoot above him, wearing a frown… well that is to say as much of an unhappy face that a dog can make. He was well aware of the silence in the room as his Godfather instantly transformed back into his human self.

"Harry! Are you all right?"

"Err, fine. I just-"

"Why in Merlin's name are you on the floor? You look a bit pale. Are you sure you're feeling all right."

"I'm fine! I guess you just startled me, apperating like that." Harry insisted.

Though Harry had seen Sirius at the end of the year, he was comforted by his presence in a way that he had never felt before. Sure, Lupin was a kind enough guy but he had always gave Harry the impression that he didn't want to become very close to him. As if being anything closer than a professor and a student would be like trying to be friends with James or something.

Of course now that James WAS back, apparently these rules were out the window. Things were very mixed up inside of Harry's head. His father was alive and in his room at that very moment, waiting on edge to see him. Lupin had abandoned the professional approach and was being a comforting uncle sort. He, Harry was sick due to unfair treatment of his relatives and there were three men in his room that were sure to figure it out. The only thought that made sense at the moment was that Sirius, his trusty Godfather was here and was concerned.

Not that Lupin wasn't or that his father might not be, but Harry liked that he could count on his Godfather to be Sirius at all times. True he could do with less worrying from on Sirius's part, it made him feel glad that he cared but slightly annoyed that people thought him weak and incapable.

Sirius reached underneath Harry and helped to lift him upright making the second time that day that Harry had needed help up off of the floor. Harry looked Sirius directly in the eyes. Sirius nodded as if to answer his silent question. His father was alive. A slight shadow loomed over Harry who looked up to see the tall form of his father, a shape he hadn't seen since Voldemort's rebirth. Instantly, Harry began to shake as he tried to discreetly edge away. His head was whirling with memories of Voldemort's rebirth. Words kept replaying over and over as Harry tried to shake them out. The faces of the three Marauders melded together. Harry's stomach churned as he remember what had happened just before the forms of his mother and father came out of Lord Voldemort's wand.

Harry weakly pushed Sirius aside before his stomach leapt out of his mouth. The room was becoming increasingly hot as Harry limply collapsed for the second time within an hour. This time however, he had fainted unknowingly into the startled arms of his father.


	9. A Wish Within a Nightmare

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 9: A Wish Within a Nightmare**

By Rhiane Raine

_"Kill the spare!"_

_"…No!"_

_"KILL THE SPARE!!!"_

_"No, no you can't!" Harry moaned with an uneasy sense of fore boarding. He watched a green light, emanating some distance away. The light seemed to glow brighter and brighter with a bold edge of darker hue around the outside as it continuously grew in size while creeping towards him._

_Harry panicked and automatically tried to put distance between himself and the light. The green light was not a good thing. Harry didn't exactly know what it was, but he had a feeling, a horrible feeling, about it being close to him. Somehow, he had subconsciously linked the shrill voice to the eerie green light. Harry tripped and stumbled in his attempt to get away from the glowing. Mud that covered the ground was caked thick over his round glasses and face. He attempted to wipe away some of the mud and grim using his rain saturated sleeve but it only smeared some of it off as his movements were not very firm but rather shaky._

_A large gray slab of an object protruded in front of his impaired vision. Reaching out Harry traced the deeply engraved letters on the tombstone with his index finger. _

_"James Potter," Harry read the name with a quiver in his voice._

_Before the grunge-covered boy could fully comprehend what was before him, the green light shone so bright that it tore his attention away from the grave of which he was still half sprawled over._

_A deep green ball of light was handing above the familiar graveyard like a core of mavellent energy. The pit of Harry's stomach dropped when he saw the body of Cedric Diggory suspended in the center, spread out like an eagle, as if he were still lying dead on the ground. Harry's breath constricted in his chest._

_An evil laugh, piercing and high-pitched, rang through the air. A horrible wave of anticipation washed over the breathless boy as he looked into the red eyes of a fully rebirthed Lord Voldemort. _

_"Bow to death, Potter!" Voldemort sneered coldly as he walked in a calculating circle around Harry; sizing him up. "After all, your mother did."_

_Voldemort completed his circle so that he was standing to the side of Harry. In Voldemort's wake a red-haired figure stood, motionless and unblinking. Seeing where Harry's gaze appeared to be, the epitome of evil cackles escaped the dark wizard's mouth. _

_"I think I shall finish **this** one better than I did your father. I fear I was much to soft with him, as you well know."_

_"No!" Harry shouted, horrified at the thought of having his mother murdered._

_"Yes, Potter! Say goodbye to Mummy."_

_Harry tried to leap forward to place himself in front of Voldemort's wand, but his body moved nowhere. Sharps pains in his wrists and ankles caused him to look down. Not only was he tied to his own father's tombstone with robe but he was also wearing a heavy set of metal restraints. The opposite end of the weighty chains belonging attached to his wrist cuff restraints was melded into a baby's crib a good deal of feet away. The chains for his ankles seemed to be cemented into his father's headstone._

_"No!" Harry shouted while struggling against his bonds._

_Voldemort advanced, wand poised and a demonic grin playing on his lips._

_Lily Potter had moved in no way whatsoever, even after Voldemort had come close enough to trail the tip of his wand down one of her cheeks._

_"NO! No, Mum, no! Don't kill her, please. Kill me. Kill me instead. MUM!" His pleas proved pointless as the green light that was looming above and all around her engulfed her completely. _

Harry was roughly shaken awake. He shot up as if scalded. It took a moment's time for Harry to understand what must have happened. He was sitting up in a strange bed, in a strange room; in a strange house that he had no idea how came to be in having just woken up from a nightmare.

The events from the day flooded in, taking a momentary place over his nightmare. This was the second time that day that this had happened to him. His father was alive…the marauders came to kidnap him.

Sirius was sitting in front of him on the right hand edge of the bed wearing an expression of the utmost shock.

Harry allowed himself to lean forward, placing his elbows on his drawn up knees, attempting to catch his breath. A hand from somewhere behind his left was placed on his shoulder. Harry could feel them shifting closer to Harry, allowing him to lean back against the solid body. The hand was now coaxing Harry into relaxation by rubbing comforting circles on his back.

"Are you alright, Harry? Y…you were _mumbling_ in your, err, nightmare," Sirius asked concernedly. The shock of hearing the evidence of Harry's troubles had caused some uncertain feeling in his Godfather apparently.

Denying his nightmare was no good, as it would highlight his insecurity with having them in bright neon colors for Sirius and Remus to see.

"I'm fine, Sirius."

A creek at the door way alerted Harry to the newly arrived presence of Remus, who was balancing a tray in his hands while he walked through the doorway. The first thought Harry had, was relief that one less person had witnessed his nightmare. But then, the hand that was soothing him paused for only a fraction of a second. It was enough for Harry to realize that he had assumed the persons identity wrongly.

Green eyes looked from Remus to Sirius, reluctant to look for himself and shatter his own dreams. It would be much easier for someone else to tell him he was out of his mind rather than stamping down his own hope of having turning around to see his father.

Either way, he had to know. One glance behind him would prove that his father was not the one sitting behind him. But it was, messy black hair and round-framed glasses stared back at him.

Harry instinctively twisted away, scooting away from his father/clone from the dead as he felt something akin to astonishment. For a moment time seemed to freeze as Harry stared at his dad. While looking he must have leaned backward because his Godfather's hand, tentative and gentle, helped him lean beck into his body.

This proved to be a smart thing to do as Harry was suddenly having problems breathing. That panicky, astounding, shocking, disbelief that he had already felt far too many times that were just as fresh the third or fourth time around.

Here in front of him was living proof that his dream had come true. Here was his father staring at him with the same emotions that he himself felt. Here was his father, back from the dead. Harry's life long wish was right in front of his face. He had dreamed about this ever since he could remember, and yet, Harry had no idea what to say.

James, his father, seemed a little upset that Harry's reaction to seeing him was to scoot away, but said nothing.

To remedy the awkward situation of nobody knowing what to say, Remus stepped forward, his face unreadable.

"Well, I see you two have just met _properly_!"

"Umm…" Harry stuttered.

All he could think about was how it all seemed too surreal; his Father, Sirius, Remus, here… all alive and with him.

"Well, I'm the adult here so I guess I'll start. Hi! I'm your father, James."


	10. Emotions on Reserve

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 10: Emotions on Reserve**

By Rhiane Raine

Sirius Black was nervous. Everything- his hopes, dreams, and personal feelings- were all up in the air. Father and son, namely his best friend/brother and his Godson were "meeting" for the first time since Halloween, 1981.

Harry's instinct had caused him to back away from James as if frightened. Though Harry couldn't really tell, James was too. Come to think o it, Sirius would be rather uprooted as well, turning around to see someone who looked just like yourself staring back at you.

Things had to work out between them. They just had to. Sirius didn't think he could stand it if things stayed tense and formal.

"Erm… I'm Harry Potter," introduced himself wearing an embarrassed sort of flush across his cheeks, a trait that proved just how much Lily he had in him. James Potter never was one to blush.

James chuckled, "Yes, I know. You have been Harry Potter ever since you Mum and I created and names you!"

Now Harry really was embarrassed at his automatic formal introduction.

"Yes sir-ee! You've been a Potter for…" here James paused in order to count out years on his fingers as if he really didn't know the answer. Sirius suspected that, having been dead for the most of Harry's life, he really did have to count out how long. "Almost fifteen years!"

Laughter followed this comment. The absurdity of the situation had gotten to him. It proved to be infectious and he couldn't help but to laugh along. Soon Remus and Harry were joining in, albeit a little more subdued than James and his maniacal laughter.

Harry promptly stuck out his hand for James to shake properly, mocking their earlier formality.

The man with gray eyes shook his head with a smile as he watched father and son alike deflect their real emotions on the situation by hiding behind the humor.

Remus walked over his twin-sized bed, balancing a tray that he set down so on the bedside table.

Sirius felt the boy tense slightly as he recognized what was on the tray: food, juice, and three different phials of potion.

"Harry, you're ill," Sirius bluntly began. "You probably wanted to keep it a secret and ignore it but you really are sick."

Harry's reaction was immediate. He sprang up from the bed exclaiming, "Really, I'm fine!"

His Godson was anything _but _fine. Harry's face, while tanned as a whole and only being sunburned crimson red in a line that stretched across his nose, turned pale. Worry flooded Sirius's senses as he watched his "Really fine" Godson sway on his feet.

Hastily, James stood up just in time to stop his son from toppling to the floor.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled into James's chest, "I just feel a little lightheaded is all."

"That's because you've got sunstroke! Honestly, when was the last _real_ meal that you had? You've actually lost a bit of weight since I saw you last and that was a year ago!" Remus chastised.

"Um, well, you see…" Apparently Harry couldn't remember which only made Sirius's insides churn with intense anger aimed directly towards Dursley's heart.

Sirius stood up from the bed and marched stiffly over to Harry's trunk. That was some nerve those muggles had. How difficult could it be to take care of Harry for one or two months a year? All you would have to do would be to provide him with food, shelter, and allow him his own entertainment. Yet, here was Harry feverish, sunburned, malnourished, and sleep deprived, all of which were physically detectable.

He rummaged around in Harry's trunk to find some pajamas but found what looked to be shabby tents. Sirius sighed, becoming more and more upset by the minute. He was very happy to have James alive, but wished whole-heartedly that his best mate could have come back to see his friends and family healthy.

"Here," he said to James. "Lets help him into some night clothes."

Harry bit his lip and looked away, but forced his body to cooperate long enough for James and himself to dress him. Sirius ignored the embarrassment Harry was feeling and continued buttoning the pajama top.

James leaned down and placed an arm underneath Harry's knees, scooping him up into his arms. Harry, for his part, was too exhausted to struggle much and allowed his head to rest against his father's shoulder.

Sirius hurried over to the bed and yanked down the duvet. Together they got Harry situated underneath the sheets.

"Harry, I'm not sure how you got to be so sick, but I guarantee you won't be 'playing in the park' for a while. At least not till we get Madame Pomfrey to fix you up properly." Remus said all of this softly while handing Harry a bowl of broth from the tray.

Weakly, Harry accepted his bowl and began eating his broth, albeit a bit slower than usual, under the stern gaze that Sirius sent his Godson. James picked up the glass of juice off of the nightstand and sat down against the headboard on Harry's right.

The three marauders, particularly James, watched as Harry nervously ate what he could, accepting a drink of his juice from James at intervals. Sirius cleared his throat before launching into the story of how they came to find James on their doorstep. His Godson listened intently as James and Remus pitched in with their own points of view. Remus even continued on to tell Harry why Sirius was there and where they would be going in a week or two.

"So the Order of the Phoenix headquarters will be at Sirius's family house? Harry asked.

"Yes," Sirius answered, "But not until Dumbledore finishes putting up the extra protection wards and the fidellius charm. Then we'll move in and start cleaning it out…. Family home my arse!" Sirius swiveled in his spot at the end of 'Harry's' bed to face Remus in the chair beside the bed. "Are you certain we can't just gut it?"

Remus smiled wryly at him. "No, the Order can make the best use out of it as it is."

Sirius sighed knowing that his friend was right. His "family" home held nothing but bad memories for him. His childhood was something he preferred not to think about and having to live in that house again was certainly not going to help.

The rattle of Harry's half empty dishes shook Sirius out of his thoughts. James took them away from Harry and silently took them into the other room to place in the sink.

"Harry," Remus said gently, "I know this is hard for you, it is for James, too, but I promise he really is your father. We don't know how or even why, but he's here and wants nothing more than to be there for you. Don't waste it, cub."

The old nickname "Cub" came out of Remus's mouth so naturally that Harry didn't even notice its appearance in the conversation.

"I know, I just… I dunno, It's really hard to wrap my head around all of this. I'm being held hostage with my escaped convict of a godfather, my exiled werewolf DADA professor, and my dead father without anyone's knowledge of it. The Dursleys must be jumping for joy by now. Aren't you a little worried that Dumbledore might poke around and worm it out of them that I've already left?"

Sirius laughed at the boy's concern over the marauder's mischief. "Let's just say we've got it ALL under control."

With practiced timing, James walked back into the room and reclaimed his seat next to Harry on the bed.

"Well, I think we all need some sleep," said Remus as he stood from his chair.

Sirius got up as well but pause in thought. "Err, Moony? What about the sleeping arrangements?"

That question caused some confusion it seemed. Remus raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean? Harry's staying where he is and the sitting room will only be big enough for two of us. You and I will obviously sleep in the sitting room and let James stay in here with Harry.

Sirius huffed in annoyance at his own stupidity. "Well sure if you get all technical and put it that way, it makes sense."

Remus rolled his eyes before theyflicked over to Harry for his consent to the situation.

Luckily Harry quickly nodded his head in agreement. He looked so needy and pale that Sirius's felt his heart struggling to reach out to the boy.

"Night, kiddo," Sirius whispered as he leaned down and hugged his Godson tightly.

Remus replaced him saying, "Get some sleep, young man. We'll be through that door if you need us."

Before Sirius could say anything else, Moony was herding him out the door, closing it behind them. Sirius turned around to complain to Remus about that- what if Harry still didn't feel comfortable around James and he had another nightmare? - but the look his werewolf friend was giving him he knew to mean that nothing would change his mind.

Sleep wasn't as easy for Sirius as he would have liked. His mind was filled with thoughts and questions on how James and Harry would get along. What would happen now that James was alive? Would Dumbledore refuse to allow Harry to stay with his Father?

Sirius was most curious about Harry's nightmare. He knew from Harry's letters the previous summer that he sometimes dreamt visions from Voldemort. Though this dream seemed more like a normal nightmare composed of past memories, it did not ease his mind at all. No child should have to dream about their mothers death and they certainly shouldn't be forced to see a loving sacrifice as an unnecessary murder.

As soon as Remus closed the door, Harry and James looked at each other awkwardly, neither knowing what to say or do.

James broke their eye contact first.

"Would you mind if I borrowed one of those pillows?"

Harry shook his head no.

"Thanks," James grinned weakly as he reached across Harry for the one pillow that was not propping his son up.

"Why are you tossing it on the floor?" Harry asked, very much perplexed.

James, who had gotten up from the bed with his pillow and had walked over to the largest bit of floor space that Moony's room provided.

"I'm preparing to go to sleep?" James answered uncertainly.

No reply came from the youngest Potter, just a slight shift against his pillows. Harry's intent was clear to James, however he wanted Harry to say it so that he could be sure that it was really okay with his son.

The way Harry had not replied verbally was something he must have inherited from Lily. James repressed a smile at the way Harry was like Lily, using no words to answer but making his thoughts crystal clear.

James shrugged his shoulders and went back to prepping for bed. He rummaged around in one of Remus's dresser drawers till he found something that he could borrow to sleep in. Next he transfigured a few blankets out of the air in front of him.

"Wait," Harry said.

Startled, James paused in mid-motion. He had started to think that Harry had changed his mind.

Harry swallowed as he scooted from the center to one side of the bed.

"You shouldn't have to sleep in the floor," he said simply, not meeting his father's eyes.

Neither spoke about their agreement. Harry was feeling insecure after the nightmare and ill at the same time. Though it was natural to seek comfort in situations like that, Harry was seemingly embarrassed by it.

James, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by the need to hold his child and make sure that nothing tore them apart again. He needed to make sure that this wasreal and that he wouldn't let Harry down again.

Harry laid back against his pillows, settling in for sleep as James took up his side of the bed. The light was extinguished by James, casting moonlit shadows across the room.

There was a shifting in the bed as James rolled inward. Nearly an hour passed with James and Harry lying there, not moving, not speaking, and defiantly not sleeping. It wasn't until Harry rolled over to face James that something was said.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" James whispered.

Startled, Harry jumped ever so little at his father's voice. He obviously was the only one in the room that wasn't aware of the fact that neither occupant was asleep.

"I'm not really tired," Harry lied reluctantly.

James was too smart for that. He knew the real problem behind the white lie.

"Or maybe you're afraid that you'll have another nightmare. I can't say I would be eager to sleep after experiencing a nightmare like you had early. Second person experience was horrible enough."

Harry's nod was just barely distinguishable.

"I'm really glad you're back… Dad."

James couldn't help it any longer. He reached over and pulled Harry to him, wrapping his arms around the small body tightly.

"I am too. Harry, I'm so sorry you had go through all of that. I promised to protect you and I failed. You should never have been dumped on the Dursleys. You should have grown up with Lily and me, opening countless number of gifts on Christmas and flying on a broom with me way before you grew all your baby teeth even though your mother threatened us not to. Instead you're here, with the weight of the world on your shoulders, having grown up with a neglectful family, facing arising dark lords before your fifteenth birthday.

Harry chose not to mention the other dangers that had come in his time at Hogwarts. Instead, he just let his father hold him. Up until then he'd only had a handful of hugs in his lifetime. All of them had been given to him by Hermione and Mrs. Weasley. The hug he had received after the TriWizard tournament been the best but it was no where near the feeling of having his father holding him so close out of love.

Tears that Harry had suppressed for nearly ten years spilled over his sunburned cheeks. It wouldn't stop coming, they just kept flowing, one crystalline teardrop after another.

James tightened his hold on Harry when he felt the salty drops fall from his son's eyes.

"Shhh, baby. It's going to be all right…" He murmured into his son's ear while rubbing circles on Harry's back.

His son's erratic breathing slowing diminished into deep easy breaths proving that Harry had cried himself to sleep. Settling down with on his back with Harry half lying on his side, half lying on James's chest with his father's arm around him. Both Potters drifted into soporific sleep, each secure with the other, no words needed.


	11. Check Ups By Poppy

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 11: Checkups By Poppy**

By Rhiane Raine

The first thought that popped into Sirius Black's head when he woke up the next day should have been "I still can't believe James is alive!" or "Merlin, did we really take Harry away from the Dursleys?" but seeing as is it was Sirius Black in question, those sorts of thoughts were _not_ the first to cross his mind that morning. In place of disbelief of his best friends resurrection was a whole nest full of likely pranks that could be used to wake up the newly reunited father and son duo.

Over in the kitchenette Sirius recognized the sounds of bacon sizzling in a skillet. Snickering silently, Sirius crept over to the door of Moony's bedroom where James and Harry were most likely to be, sound asleep. He skillfully opened the door, making no creaks. The idea of pouring a bucket of ice water on them died abruptly in his head as he looked at the two of them lying there together.

A soft noise behind him caused him to jump.

"Moony, shhh!" Sirius hissed.

Remus smiled. "Why? Those two need to wake up anyway," he said, attempting to peer over Sirius's shoulder to see what had caused Sirius to stand in the open doorway and stare for so long.

Sirius moved so Remus could have a clear view of what it was. Harry was lying half on his own chest, half sprawled over James'. James, who was asleep on his back, had one hand weaved in his son's unruly hair while the other was dangling off the edge of the mattress.

"Ahhh," Remus cooed.

"Moony-mate, that coo borders on girly."

Remus shrugged his shoulders then grinned and said "Yeah but you can't tell me that THAT isn't really sweet!" while waving a hand in the general direction of James and Harry.

"Yes, it is, but it doesn't mean I'm going to go all girly over it."

A faint smile overtook Sirius's face as he made to step into the room. Remus hastily reached an arm out to grab him by the shoulder.

"I changed my mind. I don't think you should wake them up yet. Harry, well, you know how he is. He'd be real embarrassed if he knew we'd seen him like this."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Almost immediately after Sirius agreed not to wake them up, Remus nodded and walked into the room.

"Moony!" Sirius whispered angrily.

"What?"

"What are you doing? I thought we agreed not to wake them up!"

"We did, Padfoot, but I need to get some clothes from my dresser drawers so that I can change."

"Oh," Sirius said, now properly embarrassed.

Neither of the two that were still sleeping stirred as Remus grabbed a fresh change of clothes to wear for the day. When he was finished gathering what he needed, Sirius carefully closed the door behind him.

The next hour or so passed very slowly for Sirius. He had already exhausted all means of entertainment the previous week at Moony's cottage.

A feeling of relief washed over him when he heard the door to the bedroom open. Expecting to see both James and Harry or maybe just James, Sirius was a little surprised to see only Harry smiling sheepishly at him for sleeping in later than he and Remus.

"Morning, Harry! Breakfast?" Sirius asked.

"Sure, " Harry replied, rubbing a hand over his face to further awaken himself.

It seemed that Remus had been right about Harry's embarrassment. Throughout breakfast he generally avoid looking either himself or Remus in the eyes, almost as if he knew that the two of them had looked in on him while he was sleeping.

"So how are you feeling this morning?" Remus asked, concern was apparent in his voice.

Green eyes were tentatively raised to look up at them from his plate of bacon and eggs. Sirius glanced over at Remus to see that he too looked as if he was unsure if Harry was going to tell them the truth. His Godson must have known that they wanted the truth as he sighed and put down his eating utensil.

"Well, I still feel a tad lightheaded and my stomach seems to feel kind of funny but other than that I'm just fine," Harry yawned at the end of his statement, making the last bit less believable.

Remus leaned forward nervously as he looked at Harry and said, "We've got Madame Pomphrey coming by in a little while so I suppose that works out just fine."

"Huh?" Sirius snapped his head over to look at his friend. When did you do that?"

"This morning, before you woke up."

Across the table Harry swallowed in a gulping manner. "I'll be fine. I don't need Madame Pomphrey to see me. I know what she'll tell me; 'Get plenty of rest and food, Potter!'. I can tell myself that without her having to come here."

"No," Remus said firmly. "She will take a look at you just to make sure. James will lose control if you get worse."

"Wait," Sirius held up a hand to stall Remus. "Won't that alert Dumbledore?"

"Eventually, yes. I fire called Poppy directly at the hospital wing and told her one of my houseguests needed to be looked at. She doesn't know who it is, although she must be suspicious. Even if the fire was being watched not much could be inferred from the conversation."

A sigh of relief escaped Sirius at that. "So we can safely assume Dumbledore won't figure it out till later in the day?"

"He knows already," Harry said, startling the adults who had momentarily forgot he was there.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, alarm setting in quickly. Dumbledore couldn't possibly know! Would he come and try to take Harry back to the Dursley's before they could tell him that Harry's _rightful_ guardian had come back to life and granted him permission to live elsewhere? No, the Headmaster was much too serene for such bold actions. Still yet, a gnawing feeling remained in the pit of his stomach at the thought of Harry ever going back to the Dursleys.

"_I mean _Dumbledore knows everything, he only makes it look like he doesn't so that it doesn't uproot the people around him too much. My bet is that he already knows, well knows that _I'm _here at least, but is giving us time to think we've gotten away with it." Harry said. "In my second year he made it look like he didn't really know that I was figuring things out. He even made it a point to ask me if I had anything to tell him."

Remus cast Sirius a concerned glance.

"So it he already knows, why doesn't he try and bust us?" Sirius asked Harry.

Harry shrugged his shoulders in part answer. "I doubt he knows about James but he'll want to give us time to get our story straight so that we can decided what we want to do before we're confronted."

Muttering to himself about mind games, Sirius caught yet another odd look from Remus, this time at Harry's use of the word "James" instead of "Dad".

After thinking on what Harry had just said, Sirius looked Harry in the eyes and asked, "Does this mean he knows what going on _all_ the time? Does he know that we know he knows?"

A rather painful smack was delivered to the back of his head, courtesy of Remus.

"Mornin' guys," James grunted sleepily as he slumped into the remaining chair at Remus's squarish table.

"Awake there, Jamsie?"

"It's too early for that, _Siri_."

"It's never too early for that."

"Whatever," James mumbled.

"Anyway," continued Remus while rolling his eyes. " After Madame Pomphrey gets here and checks over Harry, we'll owl Albus."

"Sound like a plan," Sirius said distractedly while watching both James and Harry with a grin. James would glance up at his son every few minutes in between bites. Harry would not acknowledge his fathers attentions outwardly but would flush slightly in the places that were not sunburned each time.

The group of them had retired from the kitchen to the sitting room to play exploding snap (at James's challenge) shortly before noon. The game had just reached an all time breaking point, the stakes being the highest they had ever been between James and Sirius, when Harry stood up and excused himself to "clean up".

"Why?" Sirius asked, dumfounded at why a teenager would care so much about appearance in front of three other men.

"I need to make myself look more healthy before Madame Pomphrey gets here."

A disapproving was directed at him from Remus, one that Sirius rolled his eyes at. "I don't think you should try and cheat yourself out of medical treatment. It's not like Poppy doesn't already know how delicate you are anyway…"

"Am not," Harry muttered. "I just don't want her thinking I'm ill or anything. If she so much as hears me cough she'll force me to stay in the hospital wing for an entire week."

Sirius had to agree with his Godson on that. The school mediwitch tended to seem a little rough but she cared far too much than necessary.

Shortly after Harry left, the floo network activated. Remus jumped up to speak permission for "visitor Poppy Pomphrey"  
to be allowed entrance.

"Afternoon, Madame Pomphrey," James grinned, using that lopsided grin that had the power to make even McGonagall melt into putty. "I must say you look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."

Poppy, who had her back turned away from James, paused in her motions to brush away all the soot from her clothes. When she had turned around properly, James winked at her, putting all he possessed into his charm.

"J-J-James

Potter!"

After the day he'd had with Harry yesterday, Remus must have been able to predict what was going to happen for he had been at the perfect spot to help support Pomphrey when her knees went weak from shock.

"Easy does it," he said to her as he helped guide her to a chair.

"H-how…?"

"Well," Sirius decided to speak up. "We're not really sure, but we can assure you that it is in fact him."

Nearly ten minutes later, after Poppy grilling James over every visit he'd ever made to the hospital wing, she seemed satisfied with his identity. There was no teary eyed reunion, but it was evident that Pomphrey was very happy to have James back and alive.

"Does Harry know yet?" she asked, opening her medical bag and making way towards where James was sitting on the sofa, wand poised for healing.

"Yes, he knows. He's the reason I asked you here." Remus said.

"I should have known," Poppy sighed, settling rather quickly back into her professional character. She unembarrassedly backed away from James and looked about.

"He's… uh, hold on, I'll go get him," Sirius said hurriedly.

"Go get who?" Harry asked from the doorway.

"Sir down right here, Potter," Madame Pomphrey fussed interrupting Sirius's unnecessary answer.

Though he already had enough color in his face from the sunburn, the rest of his face and neck had seemed far too pale in contrast to it this morning at breakfast. Now he seemed to be red and pink everywhere visible. Sirius winced to think of how much it had probably hurt to do that. It was the oldest trick in the book, taking a semi-rough washcloth and rubbing it over your face till the skin was flushed. It was a favorite ploy of the Marauders that worked well for giving off a feverish look.

Rather than wait for Harry to comply, the mediwitch clinically pushed him to a sitting position and was already passing a wand over him, tsking every now and then.

Finally, she stood up straight and announced, "You would _appear_ to only be sunburned but don't think an extra layer of clothing will hide the five pounds that you've already lost since you've been gone from Hogwarts. You're not only undernourished but also have heat stroke and you're body is suffering from exhaustion. I would have to guess that it might be caused by sleep deprivation.

"To solve the state of dehydration that your body has entered you will need to drink plenty of fluids, specifically water. This should help the dizzy spells and such. Too be safe you really ought to be kept in bed but there's no way I can enforce that, only strongly recommend it."

Sirius couldn't help snickering as Poppy began shoving a variety of potions down Harry's throat faster that old Snivelus could brew them, mumbling about how on Earth a teenage boy could do this much harm to himself in such a short period of time.

Then she pulled out some sort of green balm that she rubbed on Harry's face and mostly healed the angry sunburn that stretched across Harry's face, bringing it down to only a small patch on his nose and a little bit on his cheeks. The pink tinge that was left actually gave his Godson a sort of cute blushed appearance, something that was always present on Lily's face. With the temporary Lily-ish element added the resemblance was evident even more than before.

With a disapproving glance at Sirius for his snickering- what had he done wrong? – Poppy stated in a professional voice, "Get plenty of rest, which means sleeping when you are supposed to, drink your fluids, and for Merlin's sake eat plenty of hearty meals, Potter. You had better have gained five pounds by the next time I see you- which had not better be before schools starts back up- and I do not mean gain back the five you've _already_ lost. I mean you'd better be five over the weight that I wrote down in your file a few weeks ago! Ten pounds up from what you weigh now will not be easy if you neglect your body Potter, and I shall know if you do."

Now Sirius really _did_ feel bad for Harry, who was leaning back into his chair as far away from Madame Pomphrey's finger that was being waved, pointed and jabbed every now and then to emphasize her point as she worked her way into a tangent on Harry and his health.

Softening her tone only slightly, Pomphrey said, "Should you feel any lingering discomfort you will let me know?"

He must have seen his way out for Harry nodded his head vigorously to help bring the conversation to a close.

"Good. I shall leave a few potions behind, should you need them. This is a blood-replenishing potion; this one is a simple skin supplement that can help restore your skin back to normalcy. Here is a mild pain reliever and this you of course know."

The last phial was larger than the other bottles put together and was by far the largest amount of dreamless sleep potion that he had seen other than a cauldron full.

"I trust you three will help Mr. Potter to take it easy for a while? I daresay you should not surprise the poor boy with anymore shocking news for a while," Poppy said while spreading out a terse look throughout the three of them.

For his part, Sirius gulped.

"Alright then." She turned to Harry and said, "They may think they are in great health but the truth is they aren't much better off than you are. You'll make sure that Remus rests before the full moon?"

"Yes."

"And you'll b e sure to see that you're Father and Godfather eat some square meals? Being dead for fourteen years and nearly dead for twelve didn't do anything for their nourishment…"

"I guess living in a hole in the ground six feet under or living off rats in a cave didn't exactly help their nutritional value," Harry mumbled, just barely audible for them all to hear.

The silence that followed was deafening. It was like walking out of the Great Hall during dinner and into the deserted hallways. None of them knew what to say. James and Poppy were both kind of off in the dark about why Sirius had had to live in a cave and eat rats but he and Remus knew the full story. One thing was for sure; he and Harry were going to have a much-needed talk sometime soon.

Madame Pomphrey picked up her handbag, lighter now than when she had arrived.

"Potter," she said in a firm voice that was slightly less stern than the one she generally used. "I had better not see you till September 1st! I mean it young man… I may refuse to heal you if I have to make another house call."

It was obvious to everyone that she would never refuse to heal Harry; her smile gave it away.

_'Damn that kid has everyone wrapped around his finger and doesn't even know it… not like he'd use it even if he DID know' _Sirius thought to himself.

Pride was practically emanating off of James as he too realized how much "charm potential" his son had going for him.

Five minutes late Poppy had bid them all goodbye, leaving the Marauders plus Harry to sit and relax for on a moment before hearing the floo network activate again. The visitor did not have to pause for clearance this time. Instead, the tall white haired guest stepped right out from the hearth and began brushing the spots off of his purple robes.

"Well, hello there Harry. Are you having a good summer?"


	12. Forgiveness is a Seven Letter Word

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created.

**Warning**: This story is AU due to the fact that I've ignored book five, The Order of The Phoenix because the end of book four was a much better place to start this fan fiction.

**Take Backs**

**Chapter 12: Forgiveness is a Seven Letter Word **

Some of the color from Harry's face drained at hearing the voice of the Headmaster. Sirius grinned to himself. Of course he knew his Godson was concerned about getting into trouble, but there was no way that Dumbledore could get them for anything. Being unregistered animagi aside, they had done nothing illegal. As Harry's Father, James had full rights to his son's guardianship and Sirius… well; he made it only two illegal acts committed as it was against the law for Remus to harbor a convicted felon. Then again, it was Dumbledore who told him to lay low here, at Moony's cottage!

Glancing towards his friends, Sirius saw James smirk and nudge Remus ever so slightly noticeable. Apprehension and anticipation washed over him like a tidal wave. He knew that look and nudge to well. That was a Marauder's "Hey, I'm about to pull something so make sure you're watching closely!" signal.

"Sir," James addressed. He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets and lowered his face to stare at his shoes.

To the untrained eye, Dumbledore's expression made no changes but to Sirius, who had invested most of his teenage years at Hogwarts pulling as many pranks as possible just to monitor the old man's "shock"… Sirius knew Dumbledore's general look of serenity and the slight frown at the corners of his mouth told him that the man was indeed a bit surprised.

Behind his half moon spectacles, Dumbledore's blue eyes focused on James a bit longer that usual. Silently, Sirius was celebrating being the fact that Dumbledore had FINALLY either fallen for one of their pranks or had been surprised.

A motion behind the back of the Headmaster caught his attention. It seemed that Harry had caught on to the game and was trying to slink out of view.

Sirius risked a wink to Harry who grinned back.

"Well, Harry, you've certainly grown since I saw you last," Dumbledore said finally.

"Actually I haven't grown at all since you last saw me, Albus," James replied cheekily, a smirk stretched across his face so wide that it had to hurt.

Clearly puzzled, Dumbledore cleared his throat to get a hold on himself. "Are you quite sure of that? You appear to be three or four inches taller."

"Are YOU quite sure about that, sir?" Harry innocently questioned from behind.

Remus started laughing when the calm Headmaster snapped his head around to look from James to Harry.

His Godson grinned impishly as he walked over to James and stood. Except for the clothes, height difference, eye color and a bit of stubble, James and Harry looked virtually the same.

"Headmaster, as strange as it sounds, well, James is alive again," Remus explained simply.

"Ah," Dumbledore said. He took a step forward and offered his hand to James. "Well then, James you'll have to forgive my poor manners. I did not recognize you. It is truly good to see you."

"You mean you believe us!"

That wasn't the way it was supposed to work! How could Dumbledore just accept that James was alive? Though it _was_ much easier, not having to convince him that they weren't crazy but for once couldn't Dumbledore be a bit skeptical and less understanding?

Dumbledore chuckled as if he had been listening to Sirius's thoughts and was amused by them. "I'm very sorry Mr. Black but it makes sense for this to be true rather than not. I will look into it but for now, perhaps we should sit down."

"Of course," Remus hastily waved an arm over the available sitting spaces in his living room. "I'll just put on a pot of tea, then?"

While Remus was gone, the remaining four of them found a seat and took their time in getting settled. Albus took one of the armchairs while Sirius, Harry, James sat down on the sofa respectively, leaving the other armchair open for Remus.

James leaned forward eagerly. "Dumbledore, are you sure you believe us about me being me?" Wouldn't you like to ask me some questions or maybe offer me some veritiserum?"

A smile never wavered upon his lips as the old man asked, "Would it make you feel better if I said I did?"

The couch shifted as James sat back. Sirius leaned forward to look around Harry as James grumpily settled back against the couch.

"No," he muttered. "If you believe me it's no fun at all."

Harry sniggered at his father's pouting.

"I believe you, but it would make me feel better if you were to transform into Prongs." Dumbledore said

The hazel eyes behind James's round framed glasses bugged out. A bark-like burst of laughter escaped from Sirius at the sight of James panicking. In all of the confusion they had forgotten to tell James that Dumbledore knew about them being illegal animagi.

Not one to be embarrassed for long, James stood up and promptly transformed into Prongs with a tiny 'POP!'

Harry reached a hand out to pat James between antlers. The deer leaned in to the touch briefly.

'POP!' James was now standing in front of them in human form. His hair stuck up in between Harry's fingers where his hand still lay on James's hair.

The fifteen year old blushed and withdrew his hand as James sat back down.

After Remus had passed out cups of tea, Dumbledore began to speak.

"Now that we've sorted out that James is indeed James, I would very much like to hear how he came to be staying here."

So, the three of the remaining Marauders took turns telling their part of the story from their own perspectives.

"Well, that _is_ intriguing. I shall have to look into the possibilities as to how it became possible for James to become alive once again. The only thing left for us now is how young Harry came to be here," a white eyebrow rose as he considered each of the Marauders.

"There's not really much to say, Dumbledore," James said matter of factly. "After I came back to life and located my dear dear friends I decided to resume my guardianship over my son. I found out where he was and we retrieved him. Nothing illegal was done in the process of regaining custody of Harry so I see no reason why there should be cause for concern."

Harry ducked his head away to hide his slight grin behind James's shoulder.

"So you four know nothing about the sudden change in color scheme at the Dursley's home?" the Headmaster asked.

"Actually we would know _something_ about that…" Sirius smiled reminiscently.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "While it was not in any way an illegal act of magic, those actions were very childish, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black. I had hoped that you three would be above petty revenge."

The guilt that should have been present in Sirius was absent. Having been able to see the results of the Dursley's "care", he inferred for himself what their "kindness" had entailed. Instead, Sirius found himself angry that Dumbledore could just leave an infant with a family and not check to see how things were. Unfortunately, actually it was probably fortunate that James spoke before Sirius had the chance.

"How in Merlin's beard could you leave my son in the hands of a family like that! You know for a fact that Lily and I left specific wishes for Harry's upbringing and no where in them were Petunia and Vernon Dursley!" James shouted. "There was a perfectly good plan left in your hands and you flat out IGNORED IT!

"I see no reason why the instructions we left you were unfit to follow. Lils and I excluded her sister's family for a reason, Dumbledore. It wasn't over some trivial disagreement. We knew, KNEW, not just suspected but knew that they would mistreat our son simply because he was ours. We were right too! All you have to do is look at Harry and you can see how _well_ they cared for him. Perhaps instead of talking about me taking up my responsibility for my son we should be discussing your blatant disobedience to my orders. If you didn't want the responsibility, all you had to do was say so. I'm sure I could have left my last wishes with someone else in the Order. All you had to do was tell me you were going to follow my request…" the hurt was evident in James's voice.

The last time Sirius had seen James _this_ enraged was back in seventh year when Snape had called Lily his "mudblood whore". Sure, he had been upset the other day when he first learned of Harry living arrangements but it didn't even compare to now. The shock at finding out that Harry had been sent to Petunia and Vernon had caused a bout of accidental magic through the air, fueled by James's anger and alarm. Now that he'd gotten his brain wrapped around the situation, no magical accidents were triggered but Sirius knew his friend well enough to know that James was using more than he had to keep his righteous seething under control.

"There is an explanation for my actions, James. I cannot promise that they will make everything alright but it will put my decision into perspective for you."

Slightly interested, Sirius leaned forward as James sat back down, crossing his arms across his chest.

"After Voldemort had murdered Lily and yourself, I knew that Harry would need extra precautions to ensure his safety. If his new home were not safe enough, it would be far too inviting for uncaptured death eaters to attack. I considered the circumstance very carefully. Yes, I knew what your wishes were, but I had to make a difficult choice. If I placed Harry with a surrogate family, he would not be safe enough to withstand any impending attacks. Instead I opted to keep Harry safe from any residual Voldemort followers by placing him in the safety of his last remaining relatives."

Again, Sirius knew James was on the edge of losing his control.

"For starters," James began up again. "What was so wrong with letting Harry live with the families we specified? You know as well as I do that Frank and Alice would be able to protect him from snake scum. Out of all the aurors, Frank was on of the best. Also, what in all magical mayhem do Vernon and Petunia have that would allow them to keep Harry so well protected?" The words 'Vernon and Petunia' were spat out as if they were disgusting swear words.

The old man, looking very weary in his age, took off his spectacles to rub at his eyes. He placed them back onto his crooked nose and looked each of the Potter's directly in the eyes.

"It is a simple matter of blood. When Lily sacrificed herself for Harry's life, she left a special protection of love upon him. Her sacrifice could keep him alive if Harry were to dwell in the presence of her blood. Since Lily had to die to invoke this protection, I had to look to Lily's blood relatives to place Harry with. Petunia was the only person who shared blood with Lily, excepting her infant son Dudley Dursley.

"I'm very sorry for how things worked out but I am positively certain that had I placed Harry in a surrogate home, he would have been attacked and quite possibly killed.

That being said, Sirius shifted to look over at Remus. Their eyes met and Sirius knew that none of this was news to him. Of course, had _he_ been the only friend left after all that had happened, he too would have tried to convince Dumbledore to let him have custody of James's son werewolf status or no. It made sense that Remus would have pleaded to raise Harry.

Rightfully he should have been Harry's legal guardian. With both James and Lily dead, Sirius convicted of numerous counts of murder, and Frank and Alice tortured to insanity, Remus was next in line for guardianship. However, with the Ministry as messed up as it was- and seemed to far worse now- the laws against werewolves were very strict against any such thing, basically prohibiting as many and all human rights as possible.

Sirius could only imagine how badly Moony must feel about the whole ordeal. He himself had spent many a times sitting in his Azkaban cell wallowing in misery over the fact that he couldn't be there for Harry as he grew up. He certainly hadn't known that Harry was living with Dursley. Well, not until he'd escaped that horrid place anyway.

"W-what about Frank and Alice?" James asked, fear of the answer evident in his wavering voice.

"There's no easy way to say that a group of death eaters tortured them to insanity shortly after your own death. They fought bravely and now reside in the long-term ward at St. Mungos."

A chocking sound came from James's throat.

"Again, I'm very sorry about the way things have worked out. I cannot change the decisions that I have made nor would I if I were presented the opportunity. It pains me to know that my choice was violently distasteful to you and I hope that you can understand why I did what I did." Dumbledore spoke in a voice so quiet and calculating that Sirius almost had to move closer to hear.

Silence met Dumbledore's last word. Then, after taking a moment to think on it, James looked up from where he had been cradling his head in his hands upon his knees. "Do you know what the worst part of it is? Regretting what happened and wishing there was a better way but knowing there were no better alternatives."

"Yes, James," Dumbledore agreed. "That is indeed the worst feeling of it all."

Few words were exchanged as they finished up their tea. When it came time for the Headmaster to floo back to the castle, he made to shake hands with them all. When he came to James and offered his hand, the eldest Potter merely ignored it. Instead he pulled the old man into a hug that Sirius supposed was the other part of their unspoken apology to each other; Dumbledore for deliberately going against James's wishes and James for blowing up at him before he understood why.

"Well, I must be getting back. I'm only a floo call away should you require anything," Dumbledore directed to them all.

"Thanks, Albus," James said sincerely.

Sirius stepped up in line and shook hands after Remus's turn.

Dumbledore smiled. "I know I told you that I had hoped you to be above petty revenge but I have to admit, that prank was quite perfectly though up and deserved."

"Better than the prank on McGonagall in seventh year?" Sirius smirked.

"No! I don't think you could ever out-do yourself on that one. She was so angry…" Dumbledore trailed off.

Those who had witnessed the prank laughed for a moment before a solemn faced Harry stepped forward and shook Dumbledore's hand very business like.

"Goodbye, sir," Harry said.

"Use this time wisely, my boy. Allow yourself some fun and please get well. I'd hate to have to give Poppy permission to etch your name permanently on one the hospital beds like she asked me to after her visit here."

Harry flushed Weasley red before replying, "Yes sir, I will."

After Remus put the wards back up around the floo Sirius placed a firm but gentle grip on Harry's shoulder.

"How 'bout a little bit of fresh air, kiddo?"

He must have known that Sirius wanted to talk because Harry nodded his head and allowed himself to be guided out the door and into Remus's backyard.

_'Now we'll see just what's what with this Godson of mine' _Sirius thought concernedly as he closed the door behind them.

A/N: Phew! This chapter is done. I'm terribly sorry it took me so long but you know how life sometimes likes demand attention… I hope you enjoy this chapter because I have no clue how long it will take me to get the next one written. Like I said, Life is being rather difficult right now and is demanding more attention. Soccer season has started up so I'll have fewer time to write but I promise to try for you guys. The next thing I post will have to be the next chapter for "When Nightmares Are A Good Thing" but like I said, I'll hurry. You can thank Stars Enchantress for _this_ chapter due to the fact that she asked for it and I guaranteed it to her before I leave for Florida on my Spring Break/ Senior Trip on Friday. Thanks for reading, drop me a line if you want. I don't mind thoughtful reviews.


	13. Not Alone

**Take Backs**

By Rhiane Raine

Chapter 13: Not Alone

James watched curiously as Sirius led his son out the back door of Remus' cottage. A wave of jealousy washed over him at the notion that Sirius was closer to Harry than he was, but he quashed it down in favor of the idea of his son at least having _someone_ he felt he could talk to. A hand on his shoulder quelled any further thoughts on the subject.

"Is he… alright, Remus? I mean, is this usually how he is?"

A kind smile flitted across his werewolf friend's face. "Is he usually so suppressed? Yes. He has the tendency to mostly keep to himself as far as allowing himself to express his emotion. You can almost always tell how he feels- he wears his heart on his sleeve, just like Lily- but the thing about him is that he never acts how he feels. If he's happy, he'll smile but never jump up in down the way you would. If he's sad, he'll put on a brave face and pretend that nothing's bothering him, even though it shows in his eyes."

"Very much like Lily, then," James agreed. He sat down in Harry's vacated seat on the sofa. "Is he… happy a lot?"

Remus followed suit by sitting next to James, a contemplative look on his worn face. "I'm not sure if you'll really like that answer. Honestly, right now he seems as happy as I've ever seen him. I've only actually known him for a couple years. When I first met Harry it was on the Hogwarts Express only a few years ago."

"The train? What in Merlin's beard were you doing riding the train? You graduated decades ago!"

"Yes, James," Remus explained slowly. "But as a hired professor, it was required for me to arrive that way. See, I taught Defense Against the Dark Arts during Harry's third year. Sirius Black, convicted mass murderer, was on the loose and everyone suspected him to try and attack Harry. I rode the train in order to be there should something happen during the journey to Hogwarts. Well, that and it was also the day after full moon. I doubt I could have made it on my own anyhow."

James winced. Recuperatation days, as the Marauders had nick named the day following full moons, was always rough on Remus. It had to be triple as bad this time as Moony would have had no animagi with him during the full moon and a bunch of rowdy kids surrounding him on the train, interrupting his much needed sleep.

"So you didn't have a good recuperation day, then?"

Remus shook his head. "Actually, it wasn't half as bad as it could have been. I arrived early enough to secure my own compartment at the back of the train and slept fairly well. I knew there wasn't enough room on the train for me to have a compartment all to myself which is why I consider myself lucky that the students who shared my compartment with me were who they were."

He couldn't fight grinning as he realized who the students that shared Remus's compartment were.

"So, Harry was there on the train with you? What happened?"

"Well," Remus began, pausing most likely to remember what happened next. "The sound of the door sliding open woke me. I was planning on going back to sleep but something they said caught my attention and it got me interested."

James was on the edge of the couch. "Yeah?" he asked eagerly. "What'd they say?"

Remus laughed. "Actually, they thought I was still asleep so I decided to continue to look that way until I managed to fall back asleep. After all, it wasn't their fault they got stuck in the compartment with the professor. If they knew I was awake then it would have been awkward and they wouldn't have spoken. All Hogwarts students should have the right to relax and have fun on the train, right? So, as I was attempting to fall back asleep, I heard part of their conversation. For the longest time I had no idea whose company I was in but I knew that one of them was a son of Arthur and Molly's, and the other two were friends of his. I had heard that Harry made friends with the Weasley's so I suspected he was one of the boys there. I _knew _that it was Harry when he said that Arthur and Molly reckoned that Sirius had escaped to kill him. Of course, Hermione- I later learned her name was- was very much afraid for him. Ron, it seemed, was trying to ignore the fact that a mass murderer was supposedly after his best friend. I listened for a while but eventually I couldn't help but fall asleep again. When I woke up the next time the train had stopped in the middle of nowhere. The Dementor's that were to be guarding the school's gates decided to come aboard and check for Sirius. One of them came directly into our compartment, even."

"WHAT?" James couldn't keep from shouting in shock that his son had been so close to a dementor. "B-but the Ministry is supposed to be controlling them! Why in the good name of the wizarding world did they let one of them creatures get within one hundred yards of an innocent student let alone trapped in a train compartment with one? I mean, has the Ministry really gotten to be that useless?"

Having come back from the dead, James found that it was proving difficult to keep up with the times. Many things had changed since he'd been pronounced dead; Harry was turning fifteen, Sirius was incarcerated, Remus was living in shambles, and now he was learning that despite Voldemort being alive again, the Ministry was already so far down the hill that there wasn't much to be done about anything. It was too much to take in. Suddenly, he realized that this must be only a fraction of what Harry was feeling at the moment. Remus and Sirius sure deserved some credit for being so calm and relaxed despite the terrible change of times. Though, he was glad to be back alive in a time when Voldemort was killing less but that was most likely only a matter of time.

"Yes, well, you can imagine the sort of response that the dementor got." Remus looked him in the eye. "I used the patronus charm but it seems that Harry was already affected by the dementor. Before it even left completely, Harry had fainted dead away. When he came around he seemed to think that he had heard a woman screaming. Luckily, I had some chocolate on me…"

A horrible sense of foreboding seemed to be positioned frozen beneath his skin. He swallowed. "And the screaming? ... Whose was it?"

"His mother's," Remus whispered. "Later in the year the dementors decided to have an impromptu feast during a quidditch match. Harry, being affected so tremendously, had a nasty fall and lost his very first quidditch game ever. Even though he had no idea who I really was, Harry asked me to teach him how repel the dementors in case they came to the next match. I accepted because I couldn't stand to see him so defenseless and desperate for a solution to his reaction to the dementors. Also," Remus grinned slightly. "It was a good excuse to be able to spend time with him. He's amazing, James."

Amazing, yes, James was beginning to see it himself. All of his son's accomplishments and admirable traits were enough to make anyone proud. If only he had been there to witness his son's wonderfulness first hand.

In hopes to rid himself of the guilty longing that James had been feeling, he asked Remus about how the lessons with Harry had turned out. The answer he received threw him through a loop. His son could cast a corporeal patronus! The more he learned the more stunned he was with his son and his abilities. It helped to know that neither Remus nor Sirius were seen by Harry as a replacement father figure but he was sure that Harry had been inching closer to just that in regards of Sirius. When he voiced his concern to Remus, he was reassured that what Harry wanted more than anything was to have his real father there with him, as his father. Remus also hinted in his own opinion that when they got better accustomed to each other and their roles, that Sirius and Harry's relationship would go back to what it had been when Harry was little; a godfather/godson friendship. Back then James had been the father and Sirius had been more the godfather who would sneak new toys to Harry every visit and would encourage him to hide his Daddy's glasses.

His thoughts were interrupted when Harry followed by Sirius came back into the house. James tried to read their expressions for a hint on how their talk had turned out, but Harry face was nothing but passive.

The rest of the day passed in a timeless manner. The four of them played chess, cards, and other easy games to pass the day but in the end they wound up simply telling stories from their years at Hogwarts. This was perfect for James, who had a strong urge to learn all he could about Harry. It had started by telling Harry about a prank or two that they had pulled while at school, but since he had seemed keen to hear it, James had indulgently continued. In a way, it was almost as if he were passing along family secrets or something. Then again, the Marauder's _were_ family. Except for Peter Pettigrew, that is.

Somewhere along the line, James had told all his best stories and had begun to answer Harry's questions ("Did you always know you were a wizard?", "If Mum didn't like you during school, why did she marry you?", "What did you do for a living, after Hogwarts?"). When he had sated Harry's curiosity, he began slipping in questions of his own. Eventually he got Harry to agree to tell his life story.

Though he had known about the Dursleys, it still infuriated him to hear of Harry's poor life within their care. His son was a very brave and smart young man, James had decided just after hearing of how Harry had dealt with his bullying cousin and uncle. He _knew_ it was true after Harry told him about his quest for the philosopher's stone. It was somewhat fortunate that Dumbledore hadn't stuck around a while longer, for James would have no mind left after giving the Headmaster all the pieces of it. Letting a first year stop a fully grown wizard, who had been sharing his body with Voldemort, from getting the stone and thus coming back to life!

Things got worse from that point. When James heard how Harry had slain a thousand year old basilisk he had nearly had a heart attack. His son had been up against a deadly, venomous snake that lived under the school… and had almost been killed by the poison!

"If I EVER hear that you have gone after some lethal… monster, I swear you will not like the punishment young man!" He had sternly said.

Harry arched an eyebrow and sighed as he looked away. James swallowed, resigning himself to wait for Harry to tell him the rest of his story, without doubt, another deadly creature hidden in it somewhere.

Sure enough. After the dementors that nearly sucked out his son's AND his best friend's souls, came a Hungarian Horntail, blast-ended skwets, grindylows, and a huge toxic tarantula. The tale of Voldemort's rebirth almost brought him to tears at hearing what his son had to endure.

James' resolve fell away as he saw his son tremble in his ill state to tell how he wished he could have saved Cedric. He reached out and put his arms around his boy, wrapping him up as tightly as he could much like he had done when Harry was a baby.

"You're not alone, Harry. I know I wasn't here then, but I'm here now. I promise to always help you whether you need advice, someone to talk to, or even if you just need company. You're not alone… _we're _not alone," James said as he looked up at Remus and Sirius from his son's shoulder. They weren't alone as long as they had each other.


End file.
